Shelly's World
by Fairy Friend
Summary: Shelly, a sixteen year old girl with an attitude, and her father, who is really stupid, accidentally got on the plane to Mineral Village. How will they live their lives and get back home?
1. Accidents Happen

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Shelly's World

Chapter one: Accidents Happen

It was a warm day in Los Angeles, California. Shelly and her dad were at the airport getting ready to go on their visit to India. Her dad was talking non-stop about it.

"You're gonna love this place, Shelly! The people there are so friendly and since there's not a whole lot of activity there..." her father said excitedly. 

"Whatever," Shelly said, down in the dumps. She did not want to go to India, and she most certainly didn't like places with no activity. She tucked a small strand of her golden blonde hair behind her ears, as she sighed and bit her lip.

"Oh, cheer up, honey, it'll be great. You'll see," her father exclaimed. He put his hand on her back and patted it. Shelly rolled her eyes in frustration. "What a boring way to spend my vacation," she thought.

"You know, this is where your mother and I first met. I-" he started.

"Will all passengers with flight number thirty-eight please come to the gate. I repeat, will all passengers with flight number thirty-eight please come to the gate," a voice over the loudspeaker shouted.

"Come on, Shelly, let's go," her father said. The two ran over to the gate to where the airplane was. They handed their tickets to the lady standing there, and they rushed in the airplane. There were very few people, only about four.

"A lot of people seem to agree with me," Shelly thought, "because there aren't many people on this flight." She sat back, closed her eyes, and waited for the plane to lift off the ground.

The flight was long and boring. There was nothing going on whatsoever, and when the flight attendants handed out the food, they had looks of exhaustion on their faces.

After five hours of flying, Shelly began to fall asleep. But it wasn't long until the airplane's loudspeaker came on and woke her up.

"Hello, everyone, in just ten minutes we will be landing on Mineral Village. Please keep your seatbelts fastened, and remain seated at all times. Thank you for listening, and thank you for choosing Smith Flights," the voice said.

"What? MINERAL VILLAGE?!" Shelly screamed in her head.

"What? MINERAL VILLAGE?!" her dad screamed out loud. He unfastened his seatbelt and stood up. He walked toward the head of the airplane.

"REMAIN SEATED AT ALL TIMES!" the voice shouted. Startled, Shelly's dad ran back to his seat, embarrassed.

The plane landed. Everyone got out except for Shelly's dad.

"Dad, let's go!" Shelly shouted to her father.

"I'm not getting off of this plane! I wanted to go to India and I'm going to get my wish!" he yelled.

"Fine. Good-bye, Father," Shelly said. She got off the plane.

"Wait! Shelly, where are you going?" he yelled again, his face red. There was no reply from the girl.

"Shelly! You can't go!" he screamed. He thought about it for a minute and sighed. He got off the plane and caught up with his daughter.

"Jeez, Dad, it's about time that you caught up!" Shelly exclaimed, looking up into the sky. "I think we're going to like this place."


	2. Mineral Town

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Shelly's World

Chapter 2: Mineral Village

"How do you know? How do you know this'll be better than India? The place looks way too active!" Shelly's father said.

"Calm down, Dad, trust me, we'll love it here. C'mon, let's go explore the rest of this village!" Shelly exclaimed. She motioned her father forward, and they walked along the pathway. During their walk, a plump man with curly brown hair and red uniform came up to them. He took a bow.

"Greetings, fellow travelers, and welcome to Mineral Village! I'm the town mayor, Mayor Thomas!" He held out his hand. Shelly's dad held his hand out too. The mayor grinned delightfully.

"Well! It looks like we have another comedian in town!" The Mayor said, cracking up. "Seriously, though."

"Seriously what?" Shelly's father said. 

"Never mind that! Just tell us what we have to do now!" Shelly said impatiently.

"Um... well, let me take you to your grandpa's farm, and then we'll be set!" the mayor said. Shelly gave him a weird look.

"My grandfather would never work on a stupid smelly farm! And do you think I _look_ like the type of person who likes to pick up animal shit? I think not!" Shelly screamed. An awkward silence arose the village.

"Oh, alright, then. Just make your way toward the inn, then. Walk straight until you see a path that leads to your right. You'll spot it immediately after that."

"Whatever," Shelly mumbled. She followed the Mayor's directions until she spotted a large building with the words, "Doug's Inn" written at the top. She walked in; not knowing her father was not behind her. 

"Well! It's about time our new farmer came by! But... I wasn't expecting a little girl," a man with fiery red hair said. She was sure it was Doug.

"I'm not a little girl, smart one. I'm sixteen years old and am fully capable of doing things on my own. And this is the LAST time I'm going to tell anyone: I AM NOT WORKING ON THE DAMN FARM!"

Everyone was startled.

"Gee, girl's got an attitude," Doug mumbled, "but they always are so gorgeous. Too bad, though."

"Oh, Dad, quit it! I'm sure she's just really tired from her flight!" A redheaded girl piped up. She walked over to Shelly.

"Would you care to stay at our inn? We make wonderful foods cooked to a perfection, and we make sure our customers get what they need!" the girl said.

Shelly sighed. "Sure, I'll stay." The redhead girl smiled and led her upstairs.

"You'll be sleeping at that bed right there," the girl pointed, "next to our other customer, Cliff! Don't flirt with him too much, though." The girl grinned at Shelly, and then left. A few seconds later, she popped back in.

"Oh, I've forgotten to introduce myself! My name is Ann!" she said.

"And I'm Shelly; it's a pleasure to meet you," Shelly replied. She and Ann shook hands.

"Well, I've got to go back to work now, I'll talk later!" Ann said and walked out the door.

"Now what do I do?" Shelly thought. She sat, and she sat, and she sat. Twenty minutes later, she heard a voice, along with another one. She listened, for entertainment.

"Hello, Cliff, and welcome back!" A high pitched voice said. Immediately, Shelly could tell the voice belonged to Ann.

"Hi, Ann. Err… Th-thanks," Cliff said.

"I have GOT to meet this Cliff guy," Shelly thought to herself, "because he sounds HOT!"

"Would you like to go back to your room?" Ann asked nicely.

"Okay... s-sure," Cliff replied.

"Oh! And before you go, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"You're not alone anymore!"

"What do you mean I'm not alone anymore?"

"Well, apparently, a plane landed down on the old man's farm. A girl, whose name is Shelly, happened to be on the plane by accident. She's upstairs now, if you want to go meet her. She's pretty, too."

  
"Okay, thanks, Ann. I'll be going upstairs right now."

Shelly heard the footsteps. She eagerly waited for him to step in. Finally, the door opened. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw his glistening hazel eyes, and his chocolate brown hair.

"Holy shit! He's as hot as he sounds! No wonder why Ann told me not to flirt with him too much!" Shelly thought to herself.

"Hey, nice to meet you, Shelly, Ann told me all about you," Cliff said shyly.

"She told me all about you, too," Shelly nervously said back.

A lull went in between the conversation.

"So, um... do you like going to church?" Cliff asked.

"Yes, I go there whenever I can," Shelly said.

"Really? So do I! What a coincidence!" Cliff said.

"Maybe we can both go together tomorrow!"

"Yeah! That'd be cool!"

Another lull.

"Say, does it ever get d-" Shelly started to stay. All of a sudden, the church bells rang, and it immediately became nighttime.

"-Ark?" Shelly finished.

Cliff laughed out loud. "Yes, it gets dark at exactly 6:00 PM every day."

"I find that rather peculiar."

"So do I. It always makes me hungry for some reason. I'm gonna head down and get some dinner. You wanna come with me?"

"Sure! That'd be great!" The two walked down the steps and down to the bottom.

~*~*~

"Hello, Cliff and Crabby! What'll it be today?" Doug asked, with a hint of laughter. Shelly glared at him.

"C'mon, kid, take a joke. You know I was kiddin', right?" Doug said.

"I'm not a kid, OLD MAN. Your jokes are harmful, and not funny," Shelly said, getting teary eyed, "especially since my name is SHELLY, and CRABS live in shells!" Her voice cracked a little bit, as she buried her face in her hands and ran upstairs. Cliff looked at Doug for a while, shook his head, and then walked upstairs too. He opened the door slowly, as he walked in to find Shelly lying on the bed face down on the bed. 

"Hey, Shelly, you okay?" Cliff asked.

"No," Shelly squeaked.

"Doug's like that, you know, he likes to tease people. I don't think he meant it in a mean way."

"It sure sounded mean to me."

Cliff sighed, and put his hand on her back. "I know, but you just have to remember that he was only joking."

"Jokes only go so far," Shelly said, calming down.

"I think we should change the subject," Cliff said.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Um... well, how do you like it here so far?"

"It's okay."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I like it, but some people here are not to my liking."

"Like Doug?"

"But of course."

"How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen, and you?"

"I'm sixteen as well."

"What a coincidence!"

  
When Shelly and Cliff were having their conversation, Shelly noticed how much they had in common. She also realized they weren't having any more lulls either. She was starting to get suspicious about something, but then, a lull went in the conversation.

"Go figure," Shelly thought. She grinned to herself, while she looked up and saw Cliff looking straight into her eyes with a smile. Shelly smiled back at him, not knowing what to expect. When Cliff started to lean closer to her and began to shut his eyes, though, she sat there with the most shocked expression as he drew closer and closer in contact to her lips...


	3. Dang it, Doug!

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Shelly's World, Chapter 3

…She sat there with the most shocked expression as he drew closer and closer in contact to her lips...

Well, at least she thought he was about to kiss her. But he was simply just taking out a soda can. He put the can to his lips. Shelly's heartbeat slowed down a bit.

"Do you want me to get some food for you?" Cliff said. He smiled at her.

"O-okay, sure," Shelly said, her heart still beating at a fast tempo.

"Alright, what would you like?"

"Anything is alright, I guess."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes," Cliff said while he walked out the door. Shelly smiled to herself as she took out her secret diary and began to write:

__

Dear Diary,

I met the cutest guy ever today! His name is Cliff, and he seems like a pretty nice guy. We had a nice little conversation today, and it seems like we have a lot in common. I also met a pretty nice girl, Ann. She has this cute Jersey accent which makes her even perkier and she has a nice personality. As for my father... well, I don't know where he's gone off. The last time I saw him, he was stalking the mayor. (Hee hee!) Now... more about that Cliff guy. He has gorgeous brown hair with his bangs divided into five sections. His eyes are as brown as luscious milk chocolate, and his lips are definitely kissable. Just a few minutes ago, I thought he was going to kiss me. I mean, I wouldn't have minded, but... we've just met, and I don't want to start things up so quickly, if you k

That was as far as she got until Cliff barged into the door holding the food he ordered for Shelly. She made a smudge mark on the paper as she jumped about a mile, slamming the book shut.

"Here you go, here's the food you- hey, what's that?" Cliff said, eyeing the diary. Shelly quickly shoved it under the bed covers.

"Uh, uh, uh... nothing! Nothing at all," she stammered.

"What's wrong, is that your diary or something?" He said slyly with a smirk.

"No, no, n-not at all! It's a... um... school project I have to do!" Shelly said, groaning under her breath. "Why didn't you just tell him the truth?" She thought to herself.

"Uh huh," Cliff said facetiously. "Anyway, here's the food you ordered. Eat up." He handed the tray to her as she sat in her bed and began to stuff her face.

"Gee, you really were hungry! You're practically inhaling everything all at once!" Cliff explained, chuckling. 

"Well, the food on the plane was really disgusting! Of course, I'm hungry!" Shelly replied with her mouth full. She began to dig in again.

"Would you like some more to eat?

"Nah, I'll be okay, but thanks anyway," Shelly said. She continued to eat, but not for long, because a few minutes later, she had completely licked her plate clean.

"I'll be back in a few, I need to give this plate back to Doug," Shelly said, mumbling under her breath.

"Okay, hurry up," Cliff replied as Shelly walked down the stairs.

~*~*~

"So, back again, huh, Smelly?" Doug said with a chortle. Shelly gave him an icy glare.

"What did I tell you about calling me names?" she said, infuriated.

"Nothing, in fact, you didn't say anything about it!" Doug said. He started to crack up at his own comeback.

"What, are you a stand-up comedian or something? Is that like, your new night job or something?" Shelly said sarcastically. Ann overheard and she started cracking up as she covered her mouth with her hand. Doug remained silent.

"That's what I thought," Shelly replied, dropping the plate on the counter table, but not hard enough for it to break.

"Hey! Don't drop my plates like that!" Doug yelled at her.

"Well, then how do you want me to drop it? Like... this?" Shelly said. She picked up the plate again, and raised it above her head. Just as she was about to let go, though, Doug pushed her out of the way, which caused her to actually drop it. The plate smashed into smithereens. 

"Now look at what you've done!" Doug hollered. His face was dark red like a tomato, which matched his hair color as well. Shelly wanted to laugh, but she held it in, trying not to smile. "Ann, get a broom and clean up this mess!"

"What do you mean, what _I_ did? You were the one who caused me to drop it? I wouldn't have dropped it all if you didn't push me like that!" she said as Ann walked over to them and started sweeping.

"Well, excuse me," Doug complained. He scowled at Shelly as he walked to the back of the counter again. "Go back upstairs where you belong. Besides, it's getting late."

"Whatever," Shelly grumbled. She stormed up the stairs as she heard Ann and Doug having a conversation about what just happened. When Shelly reached the top, she reached the top and opened the door. She heard a loud shriek come from Cliff's mouth. Shelly gasped with her hand over her mouth.

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(A/N): Hey, guys! How'd you like this chapter? I actually sorta liked it... XD LOL, but that's just me. I want to know what YOU guys think! So... that means I would like you to review! I already have the next few chapters finished as well, but I'm not going to put them up until I get at least seven or ten reviews. ^___^ So... send me your reviews and I will definitely continue! Thanks for reading!


	4. Wine with Sugar

**Shelly's World **

**Chapter 4: Wine with Sugar**

...Shelly gasped with her hand over her mouth.

She saw Cliff with nothing on but his boxers. Shelly blushed a deep red, while Cliff just stood there embarrassed as ever. "Damn, he's wicked cute with all of his clothes on, but with almost nothing on... RAWR!" she thought. 

"Look, Cliff, I-I'm really sorry, I d-didn't mean to-" Shelly started.

"No....It's okay, I-I forgot to lock the door and....I..." Cliff stuttered. The two just stood there, saying nothing.

"Well, um... I'll just leave now, I-I guess," Shelly said. She stared at Cliff's almost naked body as she slowly walked out the door and ran down the stairs. But, being the ditz she was, she tripped on the last step and fell flat on her face. Ann immediately rushed over to her hurt friend.

"Shelly, are you alright?" She asked in a concerned tone of voice.

"Yeah... I'm fine," Shelly said, "but you won't believe what just happened."

"Details, woman!" Ann shrieked, tugging onto the sleeve of Shelly's shirt.

"Well," Shelly said, sitting down in a chair, "I was walking upstairs after you-know-what, then I stupidly opened the door without knocking. And...my oh my, you don't want to know what I saw."

"What?" Ann almost screamed. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"There was Cliff.... He was standing there with nothing on but his boxers! He... was... so... fine!" Shelly squealed. Ann's eyes bulged and she squealed as well.

"Oh my gosh, you are so lucky! Cliff is just the hottest guy ever, and.... Oh," Ann sighed. "I just love him."

"Yeah," Shelly said, calming down, "he is so hot." The two girls continued to swoon about the clueless Cliff, until they both heard a door open. A boy about Shelly's age walked in. He had tan skin and large black eyes, and he wore a purple bandanna with a purple and brown outfit. Shelly thought that her eyes and literally turned into hearts.

"Ooh, who's that hottie?" Shelly said, giggling.

"That's Kai, the ladies man," Ann pointed out. "All the girls are in love with him and Cliff.... Gee, Shelly, you have good taste in men! I like you!" She giggled a bit too as she eyed Kai coming their direction.

"He's coming, he's coming!" Ann whispered with her teeth clenched, nudging Shelly in the ribs. Shelly grinned idiotically as Kai sat down at the table.

"Hello, ladies," Kai said mysteriously. Shelly continued to grin while Ann blushed a deep red.

"H-hi..." Shelly managed to get out. She waved sheepishly at him. 

"I see we have a visitor... how are you doing this fine day?" He asked Shelly.

"Yeah... um, I'm doing... great, heh... yeah," Shelly muttered. She looked down at her shoes.

"A little shy, are we? Don't worry, I'll make you comfortable here," Kai replied, edging closer to Shelly as he massaged both of her shoulders. Shelly felt as if she were in heaven.

"Want me to get you lovely gals some wine?" Kai asked.

"Extra sugar, please," Ann blurted out.

"Okay, two wines, one with extra sugar, comin' right up!" he said as he got out of his seat and walked up to Doug.

"Extra sugar, please? What was I thinking?" Ann whispered.

"I don't know, but I was acting like a total idiot! I can't believe I clamed up like that!" Shelly whispered back. She looked to see if Kai was coming back, and, to her surprise, he was. He held both wineglasses in each hand, then, when he came over to the table, he placed them in front of the girls. Shelly slowly picked hers up, making sure not to spill, because she was shaking so much. She noticed Ann was gulping hers down by the second.

"I see you're enjoying yours, eh Ann?" Kai exclaimed, grinning.

"Wee... yeah," Ann, said, drunk as day. Shelly gave her the what-alien-took-over-you look. Kai laughed.

"Don't worry, Ann gets that way when she drinks wine with sugar. I should know, I've offered her wine with sugar before," he said.

"Well, if that's the case... could I have a little sugar in mine?" Shelly asked.

"Anything for you girls," Kai replied. He got up again.

"Hey, Kai! Can you get another one? I want this one for Cli-" Ann started.

"Shut up!" Shelly yelped, slapping her hand over Ann's mouth. Unfortunately for her, Kai overheard.

"Crushing on Cliff, are we? Don't worry, I'll give "Lover Boy" some wine, special delivery from Ann!" he hollered back. A few moments later, he came back with three wines, one for Shelly, one for himself, and one for "Lover Boy". He placed two of the wineglasses in front of Shelly, then he started upstairs to give the last glass to Cliff.

"Make sure Ann doesn't get a hold of my glass, I intend on having some wine tonight too!" Kai said, winking at Shelly. Shelly smiled back as she nodded her head. She took a large sip of her wine. Suddenly, she began to feel woozy in the head. She saw Cliff right in front of her face.

"I love you, Cliff," she said to him. She grabbed a hold of him and began making out with him as well...

~*~*~

Shelly opened her eyes. She wasn't in the Inn anymore. But... where exactly was she? She saw a girl with short brown hair in front of her, along with Ann next to her.

"Shelly? Are you with us?" the brunette said. She softly touched Shelly's shoulder as Shelly winced. The girl quickly moved her arm away.

"W-where... where am I?" Shelly whispered faintly.

"You're in the hospital. You passed out after you drank that wine," Ann replied.

"Well, then, how come you didn't pass out?" Shelly meekly said.

"I'm used to drinking wine. By the way you passed out like that, it seems like you've never even tasted wine before."

"I have too, it's just that I've never tried it with sugar before... Anyway, how did I get here?"

"Kai brought you over here. He was there with Cliff... and... um, I probably shouldn't tell you the rest..." Ann's voice trailed off.

"Please, tell me, Ann, I need to know."

"Well, um... you started saying, 'I love you, Cliff' and everything, then the next thing they knew, you were licking away at the table." Ann said, trying not to laugh. Shelly gasped with horror.

"Stop laughing! It's not funny! I said that... in front of Cliff?" Shelly said, her voice trembling.

"Yes... I'm afraid you did," Ann said, simmering down.

"Oh man..." Shelly said, moaning. She dropped her head back on the pillow. Her life was screwed. Her crush now knew that she liked him, and her friend was now laughing at her while she lay delirious in the hospital...

Well, one thing was for sure: she never wanted to see another glass of wine with sugar again in her life.

* * *

(A/N): How was this chapter? ^__^ I worked hard on this one, I actually really liked it! XP It was fun writing this, I hope you had fun reading this! Please review! =D Thanks a million!

~*~*Fairy Friend*~*~


	5. A Measly Problem

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Shelly's World

Chapter 5

"Shelly," the brunette said, "you have a visitor." She smiled and walked off.

Shelly heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her. She turned her head to see who it was. She noticed right away who it was: Cliff. She immediately turned her head the other direction and began to sulk.

"Hey," Cliff said. Shelly wanted to cry.

"Wh-what do you want?" Shelly said coldly.

"I just wanted to talk to you about... um, you know... yesterday," he replied.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Well, I wanted to know if what you said yesterday was... um, true...."

Shelly didn't know what to say. She wanted Cliff to know how she felt, but then again, she didn't feel as if she should, because they had only just met.

"N-no, none if it was true." Shelly muttered. She looked into Cliff's eyes so he couldn't tell she was lying.

"Oh, okay," Cliff said. He smiled weakly as the brunette walked into the room. She smiled at the two.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation, but Cliff, your time is up," she said.

"Alright. Bye, Elli, bye, Shelly," Cliff said as he sagged his feet along the ground walking out. Elli smiled at Shelly.

"Hey, our names rhyme; what a coincidence!" Elli said, laughing a little. Shelly laughed along with her, but began to cough again.

"Are you feeling okay?" said Elli. She rested her hand gently on Shelly's forehead.

"Yeah, I guess.... I still feel a little dizzy though," Shelly replied.

"Do you think you'll be well enough to walk around?"

"I think so; would you let me out if I said yes?"

"Of course! That's why I asked!" Elli began to chuckle again.

"Then... yes. I would like to leave now," Shelly said softly. She began to sit up, took the covers off of herself, placed her feet on the floor, and stood up. She then took a step. She felt fine.

"I'll be okay, thank you, Elli," Shelly said, smiling.

"You're welcome! Good bye!" Elli said. She waved as Shelly stepped out the door.

~*~*~

"Hey, Ann! What are you doing out here?" Shelly said as soon as she walked outside.

"I decided I'd wait for you! That's what friends are for, right?" Ann said.

"Of course!" Shelly exclaimed. The two began to walk back to the inn.

"So... word at the inn is that Cliff asked you about your feelings for him. True?" Shelly nodded her head.

"Did you tell him or not?" Ann squealed.

"I didn't," Shelly said. Ann frowned.

"Aww... why not? You really should have!"

"Oh, c'mon, Ann! Get a hold of yourself! We've only known each other for three days! Wouldn't it be moving too fast?

"What are you talking about? If you really like someone, then go for it! You've got to be brave, Shelly," Ann pointed out as she opened the door to the Inn. Everyone sitting at the tables looked up. A couple of girls rushed up to Shelly.

"Is it true?" "Did he really ask you?" "What did you say?" "Did you kiss?" "Are you two in love?" the group of girls asked frantically, jumping up and down. Shelly chuckled a little bit and smiled at one of the girls. She had pink wavy hair that went down to her waist. Her eyes were brownish red, and she had the cutest dimples when she smiled. She walked away from the group of girls and sat down at a table all by her lonesome. 

"Hey, come sit here with us! You don't need to be by yourself!" a girl with long black hair said. She grabbed onto Shelly's arm and dragged her over to their table. She placed Shelly in front of a chair, which she began to sit in. All the girls crowded around near the middle of the table.

"So, tell us what happened," the girls chanted all together.

"Cliff and I aren't in love," Shelly said with a hint of laughter, "I was drunk from the wine I drank... I don't really love him." The girls began to simmer down.

"But... everyone had been saying you two were together! We thought it was true!" the pink haired girl said.

"Nope... none of it's true," Shelly said, looking at Ann's direction. Shelly winked at her, hoping she got her message.

"Well, at least tell us about your relationship with Kai!" The girls pleaded.

"Sorry, guys, but I would like to go upstairs for a little bit," Shelly said. She started to walk upstairs as she overheard the "ohs" and "ahs" of the girls.

~*~*~

Shelly knocked on the door quietly; hoping that Cliff would open the door for her. Fortunately, he did.

"M-may I come in?" She asked softly.

"It's a free country," Cliff mumbled. Shelly walked inside and sat down on her bed.

"So, um... I sort of wanted to talk about yesterday," Shelly said. She looked up at Cliff.

"Me too," he replied as a sweet smile grew upon his face. "I just wanted to let you know how I felt about it, you know?"

"Yeah," Shelly said monotonously.

"Well, I-I wanted to know if... well, I want to... oh man, I can't say it," Cliff said shyly.

"You can't say what?"

"I-I'm trying to tell you that," Cliff said, "but it's so hard, I can't find the words for it!"

"C'mon, Cliff, I really want to know."

"Well, uh... I want to know if you..."

"If I WHAT, Cliff?"

"...Um, never mind," Cliff said sheepishly. He bowed his head in disappointment. 

"So, that's what you wanted to tell me? Just 'never mind'?" Shelly said, her anger starting to rise.

"N-no, I mean I can't t-"

"Forget it! You can't tell me one measly little secret, so you decide not to say anything at all! That's _really_ nice, Cliff!" Shelly shouted. "I'm going to bed now, good night!" She quickly threw the covers over her body as she gently closed her eyes.

"Umm... good night...?" Cliff said back to her. He sulked on his bed as he pulled out his own diary and began to write. When he finished, he threw it right under his bed... unlocked.

(A/N): Hey, everyone! Sorry for not updating in such a long time! I would've if I didn't get grounded from using the computer for a week! *Sigh* Yeah... well, I've completed the story! It's actually sorta long, to tell the truth, but I won't be updating a whole lot, due to the "being grounded" thingy... uh-huh. Well, I gotta go now, I need to practice my violin now! *Throws confetti* REVIEW PLEASE! XD The same thing goes for every chapter: I won't add another one until I get at least 7 or more reviews! SAYUNARA!

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~*~*Fairy Friend*~*~


	6. A Pleasant Surprise

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Shelly's World

Chapter 6

It had been two weeks after the incident between Shelly and Cliff. The two were still furious with each other, and Ann and Shelly were still best friends. It was the beginning of a bright new day as Shelly awoke from her bed...

"Morning already?" Shelly said groggily. "Whatever...." She sat up from her bed, put on her white fluffy slippers, and dragged her feet to the door. As soon as she turned the knob, out popped Ann excited as ever.

"BOO!" She screamed. Shelly jumped back about a mile, falling against the bed.

"What do you want?" Shelly said sleepily. Ann took out a piece of blue paper from behind her back- seeing as how she didn't have any pockets because she was in her pajamas as well - and shoved it into Shelly's face.

"I want you to come to my birthday party tomorrow!" She squealed, hopping on the bed. "It's gonna be lots of fun! We're gonna eat a big cake, some ice cream, watch some movies, and the girls get to spend the night together! Won't that be fun, fun, fun?"

Shelly eyed the paper, her eyelids half open. "Yeah, sure," she mumbled.

"Oh! And don't forget my present! It won't be a birthday party without presents!" She said excitedly.

"Okay," Shelly said. "Can I get dressed now?"

"Heh... sorry 'bout that," Ann said, giggled, then coughed slightly. "Anyway, Cliff's at the church so you can catch up with him there if you want!"

"How many more times do I have to tell you?" Shelly said, as she removed her shirt, "Cliff and I hate each other's guts!" She plopped down onto her bed as she took off her shoes. Ann stopped jumping on the bed and frowned. She took a spot next to Shelly.

"That's not true," Ann said. "I won't let you think that! You two were meant for each other! I can see it in your eyes... you love him, Shelly, you can't just forget about your friendship!"

"Oh, yes I can," said Shelly, unbuttoning her jeans, "and I will. Starting tomorrow, at your birthday party."

"You do know that if you do that, you'll ruin the party for me, for you, but most definitely for him. But if you really want to do that, it's your choice, not mine," Ann said firmly. She sighed.

Shelly looked up. "Oh, alright, I won't ignore him! But I'm only doing it for you... not him."

"That's more like it! Now, hurry up and get dressed so we can get some breakfast!" Ann coaxed Shelly. "I'll be waiting for you downstairs!" She then trotted down the stairs happily.

Shelly crawled under the bed looking for her favorite pair of bellbottoms. When she finally found them, she pulled them out from under the bed. Shelly also felt something hard near the end of the bellbottoms, too. She pulled it out, wondering what it might be. It was her diary.

"What is this doing under the bed?" Shelly wondered. "Oh well, I'll just put it back up where it belongs." She then placed it onto the desk next to her bed. That was when she noticed she had _two diaries._ She eyed the diaries suspiciously, and opened up the one she had found under the bed. She began to read:

__

Dear Diary,

Wow... today was rather interesting. Firstly, I came back from the mountains after a long search for lumber for Gotz.

Shelly read the sentence over and over again, pretty sure she had never written this in her diary. She then gasped, closing the diary on her finger. This was not hers. What was she doing, reading about someone else's life? Oh, but she was so curious! She continued to read:

__

Then, I walked in the Inn to find Ann. She told me about this new girl, Shelly.

Shelly couldn't believe what she was reading. This was Cliff's diary! She knew she shouldn't be reading it, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to read more!

__

So, I walk upstairs. And there stood the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen.

A crimson red blush glowed upon Shelly's face. Gorgeous? She never thought of herself like that. She began to feel sorry that she ever was mean to Cliff.

__

She told me she goes to church too. We also have a lot in common! We're both 16 years old and we both like to fish!

Shelly remembered that conversation they had that day. She also remembered how she thought Cliff was going to kiss her.

__

I think I really like this girl. She doesn't have a very good sense of humor though.

A scowl came across Shelly's face. Who was he to judge? Did it matter that she didn't have a good sense of humor? It wasn't her fault that she didn't like Doug!

__

She's pretty though, and that's okay, although I know that's not what counts in a person. It's the person they are that makes a good relationship. I would really like to get to know more about her.

Cliff

Shelly then silently closed the book and put it back under the bed. She then just sat there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then, all of a sudden, she came barging out the door, and started running down the stairs.

  
"Ann! ANN!" Shelly screamed. She saw Ann sitting down at a table.

"Shelly! What on earth took you so long?" Ann replied with a look of shock on her face.

"I was just... uh, looking for my pants. But, never mind about that! I'm going to tell Cliff tomorrow! At your birthday party!" Shelly screeched.

"Tell him what?" 

"That I like him! That's what!" Shelly practically screamed.

"Good for you!" Ann said encouragingly. She then smiled a sweet smile. "I've made breakfast for the both of us! Bacon and eggs!" Ann then took off the lids from the plates on their tables as the steam arose. Shelly could almost taste the food that Ann had cooked.

"It smells delicious, Ann!" Shelly complimented.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in!" Ann replied. She took a mouthful of eggs onto her fork and then began to eat. Shelly took a small piece of bacon and did the same. The girls continued to eat until there was nothing left on their plates and they were left with their stomach's full. 

"Oh," Ann groaned, rubbing her hand over her stomach, "I'm full..."

"Me too.... That was really good," Shelly replied. She laid her head back on the top of the chair. The two just rested there for a while as Doug picked up their plates and washed them in the Inn's dishwasher.

"Hey, since my birthday party is tomorrow, I was thinking maybe you could help me decorate the house!" Ann said eagerly. "Will you help me?"

"Sure thing!" Shelly replied. 

"Great! Maybe we can go to the supermarket and buy a few party accessories!" Ann said. She ran upstairs to her room as Shelly followed her.

"All I need is my purse and then we can go shopping!" Ann said, scrimmaging around for her purse in her pile of clothes, which were scattered all over the floor. She then managed to find it, and pulled it out from the pile.

"C'mon! Let's go shopping!" Ann said cheerfully. The two girls ran out the door, giggling happily.

~*~*~

"Hey, Ann! Take a look at this!" Shelly motioned her over. Ann walked over to her friend.

"What is it?" Ann asked.

"This feather... it's so pretty!" Shelly remarked. Ann giggled and blushed.

"That's a blue feather," she replied.

"Uh... yeah, I realize that," Shelly said lamely.

"I wasn't finished," Ann remarked. "It's used for proposal... only men use it, though."

"P-p-proposal?" Shelly stuttered, gaping at the feather.

"Yup!" Ann said, nodding her head. "Maybe Cliff'll lighten up and ask you to marry him!"

"What are you talking about? I'm only sixteen! I can't get married yet!" Shelly said.

"Here you can! The minimum age is fourteen, but if you're that young, or anywhere from fourteen to eighteen, then you must marry someone the same age as you."

"Well, Cliff is sixteen, like me, so..." Shelly said nervously, putting her arm behind her head.

"So it'd work out!" Ann cheered, then patted her friend on the back. "I'm happy for you! Pretty soon, we'll see that beautiful white dress on you and Cliff in a hot black suit... I can see it now."

"Oh, quit it!" Shelly joked, nudging Ann in the ribs. Ann giggled as she walked away looking for more accessories for the party. Shelly found a few things, and carried them under her arm, while she sneaked in a present for Ann as well. When the girls had finished shopping, they met up, went to the cash register to where there was a man with jet black hair, with dark brown eyes, a white button-up shirt, and black jeans. Ann smiled at him as she and Shelly put down everything they had gathered. Ann then took out the money from her purse and placed it onto the desk.

"You don't need to pay me, Ann," the man said. "No one ever does anyway." He then clutched his stomach. Shelly gave him a weird look.

"What's up with this dude?" Shelly whispered into Ann's ear. Ann giggled.

"Oh, people never pay here! That's why this family is poor!" She replied.

"No, why is he clutching his stomach? He looks like he got attacked by a saber toothed tiger."

Ann began to crack up. "My goodness, Shelly! You're quite the joker, aren't you? He has stomach pains, due to his nervousness... he always ends up going to the doctor too, which makes me wonder if he's cheating on his wife with Elli." She laughed at her own little joke. Shelly snickered along with her.

"This dude's married?" Shelly said, tears flowing from her eyes, because she was laughing so badly.

"Shh!" Ann whispered between giggles, putting her pointer finger to her lips. "Yes! In fact, they've been married for almost a full generation now! When Karen gets married and has a kid, they'll have been married for one generation!" Ann and Shelly calmed down as they noticed that Jeff had been listening to their conversation.

"What about Karen?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing!" Ann and Shelly said simultaneously. They looked at each other and began to crack up as they picked up their belongings and extra money. They then ran out the door, laughing at what they had just said.

"Well... now that that's done with," Ann said, opening the door to the Inn, "now all I need to do is hand out these invitations and we'll be set!" She gave Shelly the you-better-help-me-with-this-too look. Shelly sighed, and then grinned.

"Oh, alright," she replied. Ann held out a few invitations for Shelly. She took them from Ann's hand and carried them under her arm.

"If you need help with any of the people, just show me the card, and I'll tell you," Ann said.

"Okay," Shelly replied. The girls then walked downstairs and headed out the door once again.

~*~*~

"Hey, Ann, hey, Shelly! What are you two doing?" Karen said, walking up to the girls.

"We're just handing out invitations to Ann's party," Shelly replied. 

"Oh, by the way, you're invited!" Ann said in a chipper tone of voice. She then handed Karen's invitation to her as Karen beamed.

"Thanks so much, Ann!" She said happily.

"No problem! See you at the party!" Ann and Shelly then walked off, waving at Karen. 

"Next stop: The Clinic!" Ann said. She held the Doctor's invitation as Shelly searched for Elli's. When she finally found hers, the two continued on their journey to the Clinic. Ann then stopped in front of a small building with blue words that said, "Clinic".

"Remember this place?" Ann said, knocking on the door, "This is where you came when you passed out from that wine!" She then giggled as the door slowly opened and there stood Elli.

"Hi, Elli! We wanted to stop by to tell you that Ann is throwing a birthday party at her house tomorrow.... Oh! And you're invited!" Shelly said, handing Elli's invitation to her.

"And could you give this to Tim whenever you can? He's invited as well," Ann said. She handed the Doctor's invitation to her too.

"Sure thing! I'll give it to him right now!" Elli said, closing the door. She then began to open it again.

"I forgot to say... thank you," Elli exclaimed, smiling sweetly. She then shut the door quietly while Shelly and Ann continued walking. Shelly glanced at the letter on top.

"Hey, Ann, who's Gray?" Shelly said, holding up his letter.

"Oh! He's the boy that works at the blacksmith's with his bossy grandfather. He's often at the Library with Mary, and lots of times Popuri and Rick visit too, because they are both addicted to reading." Ann replied.

"So... we're going to the library now?" Shelly said, grinning.

"Right you are! We better hurry though, before it gets dark; the library closes at five o'clock, and right now, it's four thirty," Ann pointed out. Shelly and Ann grinned at each other.

"Last one to the library is a rotten egg!" Ann shrieked. She then started sprinting to the library.

"Hey! You cheated!" Shelly screamed. She ran as fast as she could to try and catch up with Ann. Shelly lost.

"I win!" Ann shouted as she ran right against the door. "Looks like you're the rotten egg!"

"Oh well, I never was a very fast runner to begin with," Shelly gasped for breath as she opened the door to the library. Ann's prediction was right; there were four people there, including Mary, who was behind the counter.

"Just our luck," Ann said with a hint of excitement in her voice, "all four of them are here! Let's go hand out the invitations while we still have time!" Shelly nodded her head to show that she understood as she walked up to the counter.

"Hello, Mary! You've been invited to Shelly's birthday party!" Shelly said, taking out two invitations, one that was for Mary and the other for Gray.

  
"Thank you, Shelly! But why do I have two invitations?" Mary asked curiously.

"The other one is for Gray," Shelly remarked, giggling slightly. Mary looked at the two letters with the I-knew-that look. Shelly then walked up to Ann who had finished handing out her letters to Popuri and Rick.

"Well, looks like our job is done," Ann said, putting her hands to her hips with a silly expression on her face. She giggled. Shelly sighed as she opened the door to go outside.

"No, we're not," she replied, "there's still one more letter we didn't give out."

"Who is it for?" Ann wondered aloud. Shelly turned the letter over and read the name.

"It's... it's Cliff," Shelly said, tears forming in her eyes. Ann's face turned empathetic as she rubbed her friend's back.

"Wow, Shelly.... You really love him, don't you?" Ann said sorrowfully.

"Yeah... I guess I d-do. I never really thought about it before, but sometimes, I really wish we weren't angry with each other."

"I know what you mean," Ann replied, "It sucks to be in love, especially when the other person is madly in anger with you.... Do you want me to give this letter to Cliff? I can do it in the Inn."

  
"Sure, I was thinking of getting a rest anyway; I'm exhausted," Shelly said, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Yeah, we should be heading back now," Ann said as the two walked side by side. Shelly kicked clumps of dirt on her way, due to her depression. She kept her head low as a group of people pushed around her to the Inn. Her anger began to rise.

"Watch it, you bastards!" Shelly raged, flipping the bird at them. She opened the Inn's door and walked inside. There were millions of people sitting down, eating, drinking, laughing... anything you could imagine being happy.

"If only I were like them," Shelly said and sighed. She continued walking, until she reached the stairs, where an unknown stranger ran into her. She fell backwards, rubbing the back of her head as she looked up to see a man with long black hair in a small braid with a long yellow jacket. She glared at him.

"Can't you see I'm in the worst state of my life right now? Just leave me alone," Shelly said, pushing him away.

"I just wanted to know if you would like to buy some flowers from me," the man said indignantly.

"Have you no brains? Of course I wouldn't!" Shelly shouted. She then pushed him out of the way as she started up the stairs. When she reached the top, she walked in front of her room and opened the door. Just then, she heard the downstairs door open as well. The room roared with cheer and happy greetings. Shelly peeped her head slightly over the rail so she couldn't be seen. She then spotted who had come in; it was Cliff. Shelly gasped, ducking back so he wouldn't see her, as she crawled back into her room and began to get undressed. She could hear everyone talking downstairs.

  
"Hey there, Cliff, what took you so long?" One voice said.

"I was at church the whole day, praying to the Goddess to forgive me for my sins," Cliff replied.

"Well, scoot yourself over here and order yourself a beer!" another voice shouted. Shelly thought that maybe it was Kai.

"Well, I guess maybe I'll have one, but I'm pretty exhausted right now.... Besides, I don't want to upset the Goddess anymore than I already have," Cliff replied. Then nothing more happened that Shelly could hear. She climbed into bed to see if she could hear anything more. A few minutes later, she heard someone else speak, louder than anyone else who was already having a nice conversation.

"Here you go, Cliff, one beer fresh from the vineyard," Doug said. "Drink up!" Shelly heard the sound of glass clinking against the table as everyone rooted.

"Whoa! You practically gulped that down in one swallow!" A voice cheered.

"You're going to be the world's fastest beer drinker someday," another voice said.

"Heh, thanks guys," Cliff said, "but I'd like to go upstairs now; I'm really tired."

"So, you're going to talk to your girlfriend, Shelly, huh?" Doug said teasingly.

"She's not my girlfriend, dude, get it straight. I hate her," Cliff said. Shelly felt a sting of pain in her heart, as if a hole had just been drilled into it. She wished that she had a pair of earmuffs, or that she was deaf. A silent tear trickled slowly down her cheek, until it got to the very middle. It stopped right there, not moving.

"Now that's no way to talk about other people," a high pitched Jersey accent piped in. Shelly smiled weakly knowing who said that: Ann.

"Well, it's true. It's the way I feel about her. And there's nothing you guys can do about it," Cliff snapped. Everyone continued to talk. Shelly continued to listen until the people's voices sounded nothing more than a few silent words until the room grew silent. She had gone out cold.

~*~*~

"So, are you going to get some rest or not?" Ann said to Cliff as the two walked upstairs, trying to get away from the millions of people who wanted to see Cliff drink again.

"Yeah, I probably should," he replied. He sighed.

"Okay, then. Goodni- oh my gosh, I almost forgot! You're invited to my birthday party tomorrow! We're going to eat cake and popcorn, watch some movies, and maybe play a nice game of spin the bottle," Ann said as she covered her mouth and coughed out, "Shelly". Cliff gave her a look.

"Look, I told you already. I don't like Shelly. In fact, I hate her. I wish I never met her in the first place, because she is a conceited jerk," he said angrily.

"Heh, if that's how you really feel about her..." Ann said.

"Then what?" Cliff said back. Ann shook her head.

"Never mind," she said. She walked down the stairs as Cliff opened the door to his and Shelly's room. He saw Shelly lying in her bed. He walked over to the edge of it.

"She looks so pretty, like an angel," he thought to himself. He then looked around to make sure no one could see or hear him. "Shelly, I know you probably can't hear me... nor would you want to, but... I really do care." He whispered. Cliff then gently tucked a small strand of her hair behind one of her ears as he continued to sit by her side. He noticed the tear that was still lying on her cheek. He put his finger on the tip of it as it disappeared quickly.

"Well... I-I guess I'll just..." he said softly, not being able to continue. For a minute he just sat there doing nothing, until he finally got up a little bit, and came closer to her. He then kissed her softly on the cheek as a dark red flushed upon his face. He then walked quietly to his bed and crawled under the covers, feeling as though he had accomplished his dream.

(A/N): Ooh! *Cheers* LOL, JK! How'd you like this chappy? It was fun to write it! ^__^ I know it is really long, but at least the long ones have more to read! XD LOL, so if you could do me a big favor and review this fanfic, I would be more than happy! =D See? Look at how happy I am because I KNOW *ahem!* that you're going to review! =P LOL!

~*~*Fairy Friend*~*~


	7. Friends Night Out

****

Shelly's World

Chapter 7: The Birthday Party

It was the day of Ann's birthday party. Shelly woke up in a chipper and bright mood as she sang while putting on her clothes. She wanted today to be the best day here at Mineral Village, so she dressed up in her best outfit: Her black spaghetti strap shirt with the words, "I know, I know... I'm gorgeous" and her blue bellbottoms, which had sparkles on them, so it made them even prettier. Shelly then put a white headband into her hair as her hair moved all the way behind her ears. She took out her CD player and unzipped the CD holder that she got out too, and took out her Michelle Branch disk. She popped it into the CD player, as it began to play her favorite song, "Are You Happy now?". She sang along with the words:

__

Now, don't just walk away,

Pretending everything's okay,

And you don't care

About me.

And I

Know it's just no use

When all your lies become your truths

And I don't care, yeah, ye-e-a-ah!

Shelly put her head back against the bed as she continued to listen to the song. Ann then walked into Shelly's room as she listened to the song as well.

"Ooh, what's this pretty song?" Ann asked.

"This is Michelle Branch's 'Are you Happy Now?' song! It's my absolute favorite!" Shelly commented. She then continued to sing:

__

Would you look me in the eye?

And tell me that you're happy now?

Would you tell it to my face,

Or have I been erased?

Are you happy now?

Ann closed her eyes as she sang the whole song to the end. She then opened her eyes and looked at Shelly.

"That was so beautiful!" Ann remarked. "You should become a singer someday!"

Shelly blushed. "Thanks, Ann, I didn't know it was that good." She then giggled a little bit.

"You've inspired me to do a Karaoke sort of thing! You know, like when everybody gets on stage and sings a song! We could use your radio and CD's with your permission!" Ann brainstormed.

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Shelly replied. The two giggled at how creative they were.

"Come take a look downstairs! I decorated the whole house... with my dad's help, of course!" Ann said and smiled. She opened the door as Shelly followed her out. The two walked down the steps, as Shelly noticed the handrails were decorated with green and blue papers. When the two reached the very bottom, Shelly's eyes bulged with awe. She looked around the whole entire house as she noticed how wonderful it looked. Over the door were the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN", a whole pile of presents near the left corner, and all the chairs and tables were gone. On the door, long icicles had been stapled to the top, so when you entered, pretty decorations would go flying in front of your face.

"Wow, Ann!" Shelly said, gaping at the decorations that Ann and Doug had put up, "you did a really great job decorating the house!"

"Thanks," Ann replied, "it took a while; we finished four hours after you had fallen asleep!"

"I'll bet! It looks like a professional fixed up the place!" Shelly continued to stare, with her mouth open.

"Close your mouth, Shelly, you're not a codfish!" Ann said, giggling. Shelly shook her head violently as if she had been staring off into space.

"Good grief... sorry," Shelly said, still admiring what the two had accomplished.

"That's okay," Ann said, "but I think we should get some breakfast now, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Shelly agreed. The two went up to the counter.

"I already know what you want," Ann said. "You can come in my room and we can eat in bed! How about that?"

Shelly grinned. "Sure! I'll meet you up there!" She then left Ann's side and walked up the stairs to Ann's room. When she reached her room, she opened the door to find a room full of blue, green, and yellow all over it. The wallpaper looked like an outside view with clouds, the carpet was a light green with little blots of red, and her bed had the most beautiful bed covers she had ever seen, not to mention the fact that her bed was a canopy bed. The bedspread was white and blue, it looked as if it had been tie-dyed along with the pillow. The blanket that went over the top of her bed was filled with hand embroidered flowers which were filled with all types of colors. Shelly's eyes opened even wider as she saw how beautifully her room had been made. She then heard the door open as she turned around to find Ann with two trays in her hand. She was wobbling, trying to carry the trays.

"Help me," Ann said, balancing the two trays. Shelly ran over and grabbed one of the trays. Ann stopped wobbling.

"Thanks, Shelly," Ann replied. She set her tray on the bed, as she sat down and patted a spot right next to her. Shelly sat down. She then noticed that Ann's room had a television. She gaped at it.

"You have a television?" Shelly whined as she took a bite of her food. "You're so lucky! You never told me you had a TV in your room!"

"Yup! I do!" Ann said while she began to eat too. She picked up the remote control and pressed the power button. The television immediately turned on as a show of "Friends" appeared on the screen. Shelly gasped while a big grin spread across her face.

"Oh my gosh, Ann! Keep it on this channel! I love this show!" Shelly screamed.

"Me too!" Ann replied. "That's why I keep it on this channel! It's the only one I'll watch!" She then giggled. "You see how obsessed I am?"

"No way," Shelly replied. "I am much more obsessed than you are!" The two had a fit of giggles. Shelly looked up at the embroidered blanket that Ann had on her canopy.

"Hey, Ann, where'd you get this blanket?" Shelly asked.

"I didn't get it anywhere... I got it from my mom," Ann said, the smile wearing off from her face.

"How come I've never met your mom?" Shelly said, her voice trailing off. She soon regretted what she'd said.

"...B-because she's dead," Ann said. "She passed away two years ago."

"How sad," Shelly said. She frowned along with Ann. The room all of a sudden became silent as the two continued to watch the television. Just then, the silence broke with a cheerful Ann.

"Oh well! C'mon, let's go wait for some people to arrive!" She said. Ann grabbed Shelly's wrist and the two ran downstairs waiting for some people to come. Shelly sneaked away while she put her present along with the other ones that Ann had received.

"Any minute now, at least one guest will be coming," Ann said, sure of herself. Just then, the doorbell rang. Shelly looked at Ann and started to snicker.

"See, what did I tell you?" Ann said, walking to the door. When she opened the door, a huge grin came upon her face.

"Karen!" She squealed. Ann then gave Karen a hug while Karen just stood there with a smile on her face.

"Hey, girl, how's the party doing so far? Am I fashionably late or what?" Karen said, smirking. Ann and Shelly looked at each other and began to crack up.

"Oh my gosh, Karen, you're the first to arrive!" Ann said between gasps because she was laughing so hard. Karen frowned.

"Aww... that takes all the fun out of that," she mumbled. Karen began to walk to the pile of presents and placed hers down. She stood up and grinned.

"I got you the best present ever," Karen remarked. She smiled as Ann thanked her for coming.

"Rick should be right be-" Karen started before she heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" Ann shouted. She walked to the door and opened it. There stood Rick.

"Hello, Ann! I'm glad I could make it!" He said, walking into the Inn empty-handed. Ann eyed him.

"And where's my present?" She said, grinning.

"The present that Karen brought is hers and mine... we made it together," Rick said, blushing.

"Ooh," Ann said, grinning, "wonder what it could be!" She giggled while she looked at the two. Rick put his arms around Karen's shoulders as Karen smiled and put her hand on his chest. Shelly looked at the happy couple in awe.

"Looks like they really love each other," Shelly thought sadly. "If only I could see Cliff and me like that." She then drifted off into another world. Ann snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"Shelly! Earth to Shelly!" She said, now waving her hand in front of Shelly's face. Shelly blinked her eyes and looked at Ann.

"Blah... sorry, Ann, I don't know what came over me," Shelly said. She put her hand over her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Ann asked concerned. She put her hand on her forehead. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, really," Shelly replied. She grabbed onto Ann's hand and pulled it off gently.

"Okay, just making sure," Ann said, smiling at her friend. The doorbell then rang. Ann walked to the door and opened it.

"Hi Gray! Hi, Mary!" Ann said happily. She greeted the two with a sweet little hug.

"Hey, Ann! How are you today?" Mary said in a giddy voice because she was so excited.

"I'm doing great! Thanks so much for coming you two!" Ann said.

"No problem," Gray replied. "I wanted to come to your party anyway! They're always so much fun!"

"Aww," Ann said blushing, "thanks, Gray!" She then giggled. The doorbell rang once again. Ann ran to the door and there stood Cliff. Ann smiled.

"Hey there, Cliff! Come on in!" Ann said cheerfully. Cliff walked into the Inn, avoiding eye contact with Shelly. Shelly looked away as well.

"Thanks for inviting me, Ann," Cliff said shyly. Ann giggled and grinned.

"No problem! Thanks for coming!" She replied, and heard the doorbell ring. She ran to go get it, and there stood Popuri and Kai, holding hands, along with Tim and Elli.

"Hey there, Ann!" Elli and Popuri said at the same time. They giggled.

"Hello!" Ann said nicely. She shook hands with Tim and Kai. "Nice to see you two here as well!"

"Glad we could come," Tim said.

"Definitely," Kai said, "I love parties." He then winked at Ann, who rolled her eyes.

"Oh, brother, Kai! What am I going to do with you?" Ann teased.

"I know exactly what we could do," Kai said mischievously. Ann gave him the you're-stupid-but-cool-too look.

"So, now that everyone's here, let's play a game of 'Spin the Bottle'!" Ann said, giggling. Everyone got into a circle while Ann ran off into the kitchen to find a beer bottle. When she came back, she placed the bottle onto the floor in the middle of the circle of people.

"Hey, Ann," Kai said, "since today's your birthday, I think you should go first." He nudged her in the ribs. Ann bowed her head bashfully.

"Oh, alright," Ann said. She spun the bottle. It went quickly, and it took a long time to stop. When it did, she looked up at whom it stopped on: Tim. The whole room was full of "ohs" as Ann leaned in closer to Tim and pecked him on the lips. The guys were laughing as the girls giggled and congratulated Ann.

"Okay, Tim, it's your turn!" Ann said. Tim twirled the bottle lightly so it didn't move much and it landed on Elli. Everyone sighed, because they all knew that Tim and Elli were already a couple. Tim grabbed onto Elli's face and started to kiss her, but soon the kissing got stronger as Shelly noticed that it involved a little tongue. She cringed.

"Okay, you two, that's enough," Ann said nervously. Tim and Elli broke apart.

"Well, I guess it's my turn," Elli said, sighing. She made an effort to spin the bottle as quickly as she could, but unfortunately for her; she didn't do any better than Tim had. It ended up landing on Shelly. Shelly's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw that the bottle landed on her. Everyone began cracking up, even Cliff, who was almost crying because he found it funny. Shelly whined.

"Do we have to kiss on the lips?" She complained.

Ann sighed and smiled, "I guess not... but have it at least on the cheek." So, Elli drew in closer contact to her, and felt her lips touch her face. When Elli pulled away, Shelly thought that it wouldn't have been so bad, hence the laughing.

"Now it's Shelly's turn," Ann said. The whole room became silent as Shelly grabbed a hold of the bottle and spun the bottle, praying that it may land on Cliff. Her fingers were crossed behind her back as she closed her eyes. As soon as she heard everyone "ah", she opened her eyes and looked at the bottle and up to whom it had landed on: Kai. Shelly stopped crossing her fingers as the two almost kissed, but a voice interrupted them both.

"Shelly, why are you crossing your fingers?" Karen replied slyly, as she snickered.

"I was hoping that it wouldn't land on Cliff," Shelly lied as everyone looked at Cliff and chuckled a little bit. Cliff managed to make a little bit of eye contact with her, but only sneered. Shelly smirked back as she felt two hands go onto her cheeks and her lips locked up with Kai's. Shelly, never having experienced a kiss before, felt a sudden rush of blood go to her cheeks as she could tell she was blushing. Pretty soon, though, she felt a tongue slithering into her mouth and she pulled away.

"No way," Shelly said. "That's _so_ not how I hoped my first kiss would be."

"Aww, why didn't you say something? You didn't have to kiss if you didn't want to," Ann said smiling.

"First kiss?" Kai said shocked. "You're too pretty to have only one first kiss!" He grinned slyly at Shelly as he winked. She grunted and rolled her eyes.

"She's too bitchy to have any kiss," Cliff said coolly. She felt everyone's eyes on her as her lower lip began to quiver. She then felt tears forming in her eyes as she ran upstairs, crying. Ann gasped.

"Cliff, look at what you did to my best friend!" Ann said as she glared at him.

"Well, I can't help it if that's the way I feel about her," he snapped. "Everyone has their own opinions, you know."

"Well I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself," Ann said icily. "And while you're at it, you should go upstairs and apologize to her too." Cliff then rolled his eyes as he stormed upstairs into his and Shelly's room. He opened the door.

"What are you doing up here?" Shelly said angrily.

"Nothing that concerns you," Cliff snapped back. He sat on his bed as he pulled his diary out from beneath his bed, grabbed a pen, and began to write. Shelly just ignored him as she got out her radio. She clicked the switch from off to on as it started to play some weird music that she had never heard of before. Shelly gave her radio a weird look as Cliff looked up from his diary and over to her.

"What are you doing?" He asked coldly.

"I'm trying to play my CD," Shelly barked. "Leave me alone." She continued to fidget around with the buttons until she came to one button. She clicked it and the volume turned up to its maximum as she and Cliff both covered their ears.

"Turn it down!" Cliff hollered over the excessive amount of noise.

"What?" Shelly yelled.

"Turn it down!"

"Okay!" She clicked the button again as the volume went back to normal. Cliff took his hands off of his ears.

"Jeez, took you long enough," he remarked.

"Oh, like you could do it quicker," Shelly said sarcastically.

"Yeah, probably could," he replied. Shelly continued to mess around with the radio until she threw her hands up into the air and gave a frustrated sigh.

"That's it," she said angrily. "This thing is too damn annoying!" She screamed.

"Want me to help you?" Cliff muttered.

"I can do it," Shelly said. She pressed another button. The music reset itself. "What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

"Here, let me try," Cliff said. Before Shelly could say anything, Cliff was already over to where she was. The two were searching for random buttons to press that looked like the right ones. Pretty soon, she felt a hand touch hers. She quickly moved her hand.

"S-sorry," Cliff mumbled.

"Whatever," Shelly answered. She continued to search for the button. When she finally found a button, she pushed it, and saw the top of the CD shoot up. She looked inside the CD player and noticed that there was no CD.

"Now I know why it didn't work," Shelly said.

"Why?" Cliff said smiling weakly.

"Because there was no CD in it!" She giggled a little bit as she noticed that Cliff was laughing as well. She looked at him as a smile twinkled in her eye. Cliff's eyes smiled back at her. She coughed a little bit and stopped laughing as she looked for a CD to put in her CD player. When she came across the Michelle Branch disk that she and Ann were listening to earlier, she immediately took it out from the CD holder and put it into the player. Then, with a press of a button, the music began to play. She then sat down on her bed as the intro of "Are you Happy now?" began to play.

"This is a really pretty song," Cliff said softly.

"Yeah..." Shelly replied, "this is my favorite song ever."

"You have good taste.... You know, this song sorta describes a friendship between me and a special someone." Cliff said, stuttering a little bit.

"Oh really?" Shelly said, smiling.

"Yeah," Cliff said, getting up. "You don't mind if I lay down here with you, do you?"

"Go ahead, it's a free country, remember?" Shelly said as Cliff got onto the bed with her. He laughed quietly.

"So, tell me what you were saying?"

"Oh... well, yeah, this song represents a friendship between me and someone... yeah," Cliff said. He then coughed.

"And who might this 'someone' be, hmm?" Shelly said playfully.

"It's yo- err... Y-yo...landa! Yeah, Yolanda!" Cliff said. The music stopped.

"Who's that?" Shelly asked suspiciously.

"You don't know her," Cliff said, blushing. Shelly didn't believe him for one second.

"It's because she doesn't exist," Shelly said, smirking. Cliff panicked, not knowing what to do.

"F-fine... you're right," Cliff admitted. He sighed.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Shelly said, playing with his mind as the same song played over again. "So, who do you like?"

Poor Cliff was trapped. He knew this was the end of his life, and when he told her, she would laugh her head off and rush to tell her friends who would laugh as well...

"Well?"

Cliff thought of something to say that would get her to believe him. He thought and thought and thought until he thought he had used all of his brainpower. Just then, the perfect thing for him to say popped into his head:

"You don't know her... trust me," Cliff said looking into Shelly's eyes, his eyes smiling. Shelly smiled at him, and then Cliff looked away.

"Hey, Shelly, I need to tell you something," he said nervously.

"What is it?" Shelly asked concerned.

"Well, I umm... I-I'm sorry," he mumbled. Shelly said nothing, not knowing whether to express how she felt, mentally, or physically. She decided physically as she scooted closer to him, pulled his face to where he was looking at her, and forced him closer to her. When their lips touched, Shelly felt tons of blood rush to her face, more blood then when she had kissed, or French kissed, Kai. The kiss was cut off, though, when the two heard a loud screech come from downstairs.

"Cliff! Shelly! What are you two doing up there? You've been up there for twenty-five minutes! Don't you want to play Truth or Dare with us?" Shelly could make out that it was Ann. Cliff and Shelly pulled apart (without making the kissing noise thing... err, yeah, so basically, they didn't kiss really) and walked downstairs to where the rest of the gang were playing "Truth or Dare".

__

(A/N: Hey, all! Sorry for the long wait! ^__^ I've been planning out all my chapters and such, so yeah... it'll be a while when I finish, but I'll finish, don't worry. And also, I'm trying to make my stories look more... professional by using bigger words and stuff **Because... it sounds better?** So, yeah... that's basically it! Well, TTYL, all, and please, please, please review! =D Your reviews mean a lot to me! XD

~*~*Fairy Friend*~*~


	8. Party Pooper

****

Shelly's World

Chapter 8

"Okay, Cliff, have you ever kissed anybody?"

The gang was playing a game of Truth or Dare. It was now Cliff's turn, and he had asked for truth.

"Well I, um..." he said nervously.

"C'mon, Cliff, it's not that bad. It's not like anyone's going to laugh at you."

Cliff just sat there. He wanted to tell what had happened up in the bedroom, but he couldn't.

"N-no, never had a first kiss before," he lied. Shelly looked up at him.

"Cliff, tell the truth," she said with her teeth clenched, nudging him in the ribs. Ann overheard and grinned.

"Are you lying to me, Cliff?" She said suspiciously.

"Um... um..." he stuttered, blushing.

Ann began to laugh. "You _are_ lying! I can so totally tell!" She replied in a girly voice. Cliff blushed harder.

"O-okay," Cliff confessed. "I _have_ had a first kiss before." He bowed his head.

"What was her name?" Ann asked, eyeing Shelly.

"Marjorie... Marjorie Wilson," Cliff said almost immediately as Ann frowned with disappointment. Everyone else looked as if they were all urging him to continue. "She was so pretty too. She had short red hair and bluish green eyes, and she wore lots of blue and green to show them off. Marjorie also wore lots of mild scented perfume, so when I kissed her for the very first time, I smelled the perfume and it felt so good to be in her arms..." He zoned off into another world and sighed quietly.

"How romantic," Ann said, swooning.

"Yeah," said Mary softly, drifting off into silence. The room was motionless and completely quiet. Shelly then broke the silence.

"So, Cliff, it's your turn now," Shelly said softly. Cliff turned to Ann.

"Truth or Dare?" He asked her.

"Dare," she said bravely.

"I dare you to open up Karen and Rick's present," he said, grinning. Ann smirked back.

"What kind of a dare is that?" Ann remarked as she walked over to the pile of presents.

"You'll see," Cliff said, winking at Karen and Rick, who were blushing furiously. Ann searched through the presents until she came across a small box with a large letter.

"Bring it over here," Cliff said. Ann walked over to the gang and sat down. She opened the card. Nothing was inside.

"It's brilliant, isn't it?" Rick said, grinning like an idiot. Karen pinched him.

"You dweeb," Karen said, punching him slightly. "Here, take this," Karen said, pulling out a mini flashlight from her jean pocket. She then handed it to Ann, while Rick whined that Karen had to do that.

"You're... invited... to... Karen and Rick's... wedding!" Ann read slowly. When she came to the last word, a huge smile had been plastered onto her face.

"Yes! Aren't you so excited?" Karen shouted happily. Rick was blushing deeply.

"Didn't you see the rings on our fingers?" He said, waving his and Karen's fingers into the air. The diamond on Karen's ring glistened in the sunlight.

"I'm so happy for you," Popuri said, giggling with delight. Everyone else agreed with her as Ann stood up.

"You two have to kiss," she declared. "In front of everybody."

Rick blushed again. "Do we have to...?"

"Oh, c'mon, you chicken," Ann said. "It's just kissing, it's not like you two are stripping for us."

"Okay, fine," he said, edging closer to Karen. As soon as both of their lips met, everyone managed to get out an, "Ooh" and a little bit of applauding. 

"Aren't they such a cute couple?" Ann commented to Shelly. Shelly nodded, biting her lower lip. When the couple had stopped kissing, finally, Ann searched around for another present in the present pile.

"Whatever happened to Truth or Dare?" Asked a confused Gray.

"That's over, I want to open presents!" Ann squealed. She tore off the wrapping paper and gasped when she found the surprise inside.

"It's a blue necklace!" Ann screamed excitedly. She held it up in the air for all to see. "Thanks so much, Gray and Mary!"

"No problem... we make jewelry all the time so I get tired of seeing them." Gray replied shyly.

"I was going to give you a book, but I thought that would be a crummy present, because, well, it's a book," Mary said blushing. "So then Gray decided we could share this present."

"I really love it, you guys, thanks!" Ann beamed. She took it out from the box and put it around her neck.

"Open mine next," Kai said, grinning hugely. Ann gave him a weird look and looked for his. When she came across it, she tore off the wrapping paper. When she saw what was inside, her face wrinkled up with disgust.

"What...is this?" She asked, grossed out.

"It's a... you know, something to use in your spare time when you're bored," Kai said, not wanting to get too detailed in front of everyone.

"Gross... I mean, thanks, Kai, let me go put this upstairs," Ann said nervously as she ran up the stairs. Popuri gave Kai a look.

"What exactly did you give her?" She asked.

"A...a..." Kai started. He then got closer to her ear and whispered. Popuri pulled away in disgust.

"Ew! No wonder why she put it upstairs! She was so humiliated that she didn't want to show us her tears! You bastard!" Popuri screeched, slapping him across the face. Kai then rubbed the spot where he got slapped.

"Oh, c'mon, it was a little joke, it wasn't supposed to be harmful," he remarked sharply.

"Well, it was harmful," Popuri commented as Ann walked down the stairs.

"What was harmful?" Ann asked. She sat down with everyone.

"The present that Kai got you," Popuri replied.

"What was so bad about it?" Kai said. "It's just something she can play with on a regular basis. It's nothing bad."

"It's nothing bad? Oh, that's where you're wrong," Popuri said sternly. Kai's face grew red from anger.

"What the hell is wrong with Silly Putty?" He shouted. "You play with it on your spare time when you're bored. I don't see what you find offensive about it, but it's nothing to be ashamed of!" Shelly giggled thinking that Kai had been talking about something else.

"Well, it feels gross," Popuri remarked. "Besides, isn't that such a crummy present?"

Ann pushed the two away from each other. "Okay, new topic. It's called, opening presents," she said firmly. As the room grew silent, she walked over to the pile of presents and pulled out another present. Shelly grinned when she noticed that the present was from her. As Ann unwrapped the wrapping paper on the gift, Shelly kept looking at her, hoping that she would be happy with what she got. A huge smile had been spread across Ann's face. Shelly grinned to herself, knowing she would like it.

"Oh my gosh, Shelly," Ann said excitedly, "you rock!" She held up the present, which turned out to be a cookbook. "Now I can make more recipes!"

"I thought you would like it," Shelly said with a weak smile. Ann smiled then looked at Cliff.

"And I suppose that you got that present with her?" She said, giggling. Cliff rolled his eyes.

"No, we hated each other, remember?" Cliff stated. Ann giggled even more.

"You _hated_ each other... but now you're in love, right?" She exclaimed. Cliff's face turned a dark shade of scarlet.

"Well, we-" he started.

"You kissed?" Ann squealed and clapped her hands.

"Well, not entirely," Shelly managed to get out. Karen grinned slyly.

"That means you have to kiss now," she said, looking at the two of them.

"But this isn't the way I wanted to use my first kiss," Shelly whined.

"Too bad," Karen said. "This is the way we play Truth or Dare here. Live with it or leave."

The room became silent as everyone laid eyes on Shelly and Cliff. Shelly started to sweat. This wasn't going to be easy, especially since they were going to be kissing in front of everyone.

"Oh, all right," Shelly muttered. She looked into Cliff's eyes. She slowly got closer to him, afraid to lay her lips on his in front of all these people. When they got within a foot of each other, the front door opened and there stood Doug. Shelly sighed a sigh of relief as she sat up straight again.

"Saved by the door," Shelly thought. "I can't believe I'm thinking this, but... thank you, Doug."

"You children aren't doing anything dangerous, now, are you?" Doug asked suspiciously. Ann shook her head in response.

"No, Daddy, we're fine. It's just a game of Truth or Dare," she replied, then smiled. Doug then gave her a weird look and walked into the kitchen's back door.

"Anyway, where were we? Oh yes! You two were about to kiss!" Karen said. Shelly and Cliff continued to stare at each other.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get to it!" Karen exclaimed. Shelly and Cliff leaned closer to each other and their lips soon met. Shelly could hear the whole room roar with applause. The door to the kitchen opened, though, and the kiss had to be cut short.

"What's going on in here?" Doug asked sternly. Everyone stopped cheering.

"A-Ann said a bad word," Elli thought up quickly, knowing Doug didn't care if his daughter swore or not.

"And you're cheering because?" Doug said suspiciously.

"Because she made up a great comeback with the word in it," Elli replied. She smiled weakly. Doug gave her a weird look.

"Right," he said facetiously. He walked back into the kitchen's back door again. Shelly and Cliff knew what they had to do and tried to kiss again, but were interrupted by Karen.

"Enough of that! We've tried too many times and failed; let's just open presents now!" she shouted. She then took a present from the pile and handed it gruffly to Ann. Ann gave her the watch-your-attitude look.

"Whenever we try to kiss," Shelly thought, "we always end up getting interrupted. It's like, a curse or something." She scowled. Ann tore open her next present, and when she saw it, tears came to her eyes, because she was so happy.

"Oh, Elli and Tim, you shouldn't have! I love your hand embroidered handkerchiefs!" Ann squealed, stomping her feet excitedly. Elli smiled nervously while Tim said nothing.

"I'm glad you like it," Elli replied. "It took me a while to make, and Tim helped me out a little, too, by telling me what colors to make everything." She giggled. "I did most of the work, though."

"Obviously," Ann replied, giggling too. "I've never met a guy who could sew here." She got up to get the last three presents from the pile. All of them were from Doug; the first one was a pair of blue jeans, the second was a notebook and colored pencils, and the last was a book that Basil, the plant lover and writer, had written. Ann laughed out loud when she saw her last present. Everyone cracked up with her.

"What in the world...?" She started, and began to crack up again. "No offense to my dad and Basil, but I am definitely not interested in some stupid book about plants."

"I wouldn't be either," Shelly remarked. "I mean, who wants to read a book about nature?" She tried to stifle her laughter, but didn't succeed.

"I know, really!" Ann chortled, waving the book idiotically as the book flew out of her hands and onto the ground, opened. A small piece of paper came flying out of the book, to Shelly's surprise. She eyed it, as the whole room remained mum.

"A birthday card for you?" Shelly asked Ann. Ann picked up the letter and read it carefully.

"Nope. It says it's for you," she replied lamely. She handed the letter to Shelly, who rudely declined by pushing it away.

"It can't be mine," she said, "it's not my birthday. Besides, who in their right mind would give a birthday card to a guest at a party?"

"Your dad," Ann read. She impatiently handed the letter to Shelly, who grabbed it out of her hands this time. She carefully tore the top of the envelope open, and pulled out a blue piece of paper. Shelly then read aloud:

__

Dear Shelly,

It is I, your father. I am back here in California with your mom and brother. I hope you don't mind that you are there by yourself. Besides, I hated that place from the very start, and when I talked to the Mayor, he said some very mean things. I don't know quite exactly what he said, but I know it was mean. I screamed at him and ran back to the airport and here I am now. That is all. Take care.

~ Your Father

Everyone in the room cracked up, including Ann. Shelly started to whine, but also laughed a little, due to her father's horrible stupidity and short term of vocabulary.

"Great, I guess that means I'm staying here for the rest of my life," Shelly said while sulking. "I mean, I can't afford to go on an airport. I'm not even old enough to go on one by myself!"

"Don't you like it here?" Mary said, trying to comfort Shelly as she rubbed her back.

"Yes, I love it here," she commented, "but I want my family here with me too. I can't believe how idiotic my father was... leaving me here like that." 

"Ha, he'll be back soon, quit worrying. C'mon, everyone, let's go watch a movie now!" Karen said as she grabbed a movie from her jacket. Shelly and Ann gave her a look as the whole entire group walked to the big screen television hidden behind the staircase. Shelly awed in amazement.

"Whoa," she said to Ann, "you never told me about this!"

"Yeah, I know... sorry," she said sheepishly. Shelly smiled then sat down next to Ann while Karen put the videocassette in.

"We're going to watch 'The Ring'," Karen said, trying to creep everyone out. She didn't succeed.

"Oh, that movie isn't scary," Shelly replied.

"Yeah, and by the way you said it, it doesn't sound like a very scary movie at all," Gray said. Shelly guessed that he had never seen it before.

"Well, it is," Karen said. "I'd be very afraid if I were you."

The room remained silent.

"Oh yeah, and.... Get a shield so you babies don't have to see the gruesome parts," she said, smirking evilly. Shelly glared at her, then rolled her eyes.

"What's the matter, Shelly? You don't believe me?" Karen said in an over friendly voice.

"No, because I've seen this movie, and since other people don't seem to agree with you, I suggest you keep your mouth shut, unless you want it to be socked with my fist." Shelly then replied. Ann laughed with her hand over her mouth. Karen laughed sarcastically.

"Oh, you like that?" She said, smirking at Ann. Ann stopped laughing and gave her a look. Karen then clicked the power button on the remote control, and the video began to play. Popuri hid behind Kai.

"Aw, don't be such a wimp," Kai mocked, and pushed her out of the way.

"But it's scary," Popuri whined while clinging onto his arm. Kai grunted slightly, but decided he liked Popuri's comfort, being the person he was.

~*~*~

The movie had finished. Popuri and Mary had been scared out of their wits. Karen cackled at the two.

"You two are so pathetic! Just look at you, crying like little children!" She remarked. Popuri began to cry more.

"W-well, it's n-n-not our fault we're a-afraid of scary movies," Mary said, whimpering.

"What cowards," Karen said selfishly. Shelly, not liking what was going on, intruded the conversation.

"Oh, and you're not afraid of anything?" She said bravely.

"Yeah, I am, I'm just not afraid of movies... it's called _acting_, people," she replied. Shelly gave a frustrated sigh.

"Look, not everyone is like you, nor does everyone want to be like you-"

"You know, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all."

"Then why were you talking shit about Mary and Popuri?"

The room grew silent again. Just then, Shelly heard a laugh from the audience, then everyone started laughing. Shelly beamed with pride, while Karen sat down feeling like an idiot.

"What a coward," Shelly remarked, feeling proud that she could help her friends. The laughter soon stopped and then turned into complete and utter silence until the men got into a group and started their own social circle. The girls did the same. Ann started first.

"Hey, girls," she whispered so the boys couldn't hear her, "the guys have to leave because we have to go to bed soon, and my dad doesn't like it when guys are over here... well, except for Cliff, because he basically lives here... but, what should I do?"

"Tell them in a nice, polite, way," Mary stated calmly. "You should say it to them so they won't feel left out and-"

"Hey, boys! Party's over!" Karen shouted as she stood up from the girls' social circle. "Pack your things and leave!" She pointed toward the front door. The boys just stared at her.

"Leave?" Gray shouted, whining.

"Did I stutter? _Yes!_ Leave, you fool!" Karen said impatiently. She grinned as she looked down to the girls, who were now glaring at her.

"I said _politely_, not impolitely," Mary said indignantly.

"Who cares what you said? It's what I said that matters now!" she boasted as she then turned to the boys. "What's taking you so long? Chop, chop!" She clapped her hands lethargically as the guys began standing up and walking out the door. Karen then ran to the door, opened it and watched as the group of boys walked out.

"That's it, keep moving," she coaxed in a bored tone of voice. When the last guy went out, Karen slammed the door, not realizing that he had just flipped her off. She sat down with the group.

"That was rather rude," Popuri pointed out.

"Well, they're gone, aren't they?" Karen bragged. Shelly decided to keep her mouth shut, because she didn't want to cause anymore trouble than she already had. Ann looked at Karen with deep blue eyes, then sighed.

"Come on, guys. Let's get ready for bed," she said pathetically. She dragged her feet upstairs. A scream then came from Karen.

"What are _you_ still doing here?" she yelped at Cliff.

"I live here," he remarked sharply. "Did that alcohol get to your head again? You should really lay off that stuff, you know."

"Don't tell me you don't drink any," she said sarcastically. "The guys look up to you for those little drinking contests you hold every night."

"For your information, you hold drinking contests too. You haven't lost a single one!"

"Neither have you!"

Cliff remained speechless. He had run out of comebacks. Shelly's anger grew within her as she saw Cliff coming close to tears while Karen snickered maniacally. Shelly then got up and pushed Karen to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Is there an off button for your attitude?" Shelly raged.

"Aw... sticking up for your boyfriend, how sweet!" She remarked in a mockingly sweet voice. Shelly's face grew red.

"He is not my boyfriend!" She screamed. She then turned to Cliff and winked at him repeatedly so he would understand.

"Of course not! How silly of me to think that! You're just friends who make out! I get it," Karen said facetiously.

"We never made out in the first place!"

"Then how come I found you two up in your bedroom with your lips attached? Did you somehow trip and your lips just accidentally found his?"

"Give me some proof that you actually _did_ see us making out," Shelly hollered.

"How about this? We were playing Truth or dare while Cliff went up to apologize. It was my turn and I asked Ann to go see what you two were really doing up there. So... she went. I followed along to see if she was going to look and not get caught, and that's when I saw you two through the window, kissing away."

Shelly was now speechless too. She had millions of things to say to her in her mind, but nothing seemed to fit just how she felt. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt her fist slam against Karen's flesh. A scream of pain came from her mouth.

"You little _bitch_! You are _so_ going to pay for that!" Karen yelped as she put her fists up. She then kicked Shelly right in the stomach as she clutched onto it and fell to the floor. While Karen's leg was still in the air, Shelly grabbed a hold of it from where she was to make Karen fall to the ground, pleading for help. Ann came running down the stairs with her sleeping bag as she saw Karen moaning prayers to the Goddess and Shelly grasping onto Karen's leg.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ann raged.

"She's trying to strangle me!" Karen complained in that usual help-me voice. "I was just talking to Cliff when out of nowhere, she punched me in the face," She continued to moan while Ann turned to Shelly, with a look of pain.

"Shelly... I am sorely disappointed in you. I can't believe you, my best friend, would do something so cruel to Karen. I totally misjudged you," Ann said softly with a hint of anger.

"Ann, you can't believe her!" Shelly complained. "She's lying! Don't trust her!"

"I can't trust you anymore to believe that," Ann replied. "I thought you were the loyal type of friend, but I guess I was wrong; I don't even think of you as a friend anymore." She then bowed her head.

"Ann, listen..."

"No, I can't, Shelly. I already told, you... I can't trust you anymore. Can we please just leave it at that?"

Shelly said nothing. She dared not to cry because she knew Karen would taunt her about it and everyone in the room would think she was a crybaby. 

"I-I... I guess you want me to leave now?" Shelly said, trying to hold the tears back.

"Please do, Shelly. It would do us all a big favor." Karen said rudely.

"Well, fine. If that's the way you all want it, I guess this is the way it's going to be. I hope you all have fun sleeping together," Shelly replied, putting one foot onto a step. She then ran all the way up to her room and cried to herself while everyone downstairs chatted away. Not even Cliff went upstairs to be by her side.

"What great friends I have," Shelly said facetiously, her voice muffled by the pillow. "What great friends."

__

A/N: Hey, guys! ^__^ Sorry it's taken me this long to update this chapter. I'd been sick for quite a while and stuff... yeah. (For you people that know me on AIM, Yahoo, or MSN, you now know the reason why I hadn't been on the computer since, well, forever.) Please forgive me, I have the whole entire story plotted out from here, so I'll hopefully be updating pretty quickly from now on. Just remember, though, that I want at least 7 to 10 reviews from each chapter. :) TTFN, peeps! 

~*~*Fairy Friend*~*~


	9. A New Friendship

****

Shelly's World

Chapter 9

It was six o' clock by the time Shelly awoke. She sleepily slipped her blue fluffy slippers on and walked downstairs where everyone was seated at a table eating breakfast. Everyone glared at her with tired eyes as she slowly walked to the counter where Doug was standing, giving them all a blank look. Doug snarled.

"Um… good morning, Doug?" Shelly said, confused.

"Oh, hi, Shelly. What would you like this morning? How about a serving of punch?" Doug lashed, slightly laughing at his own joke.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shelly said, giving him a look.

"Don't give us that shit!" Karen raged. "You know exactly what he's talking about!"

Shelly slowly sat down at a table. "No I don't..." she replied.

"Oh, really? I guess this might turn on the light bulb then!" Karen shouted, pulling up her pajama's sleeve. On the top part of her arm, there was a huge black and blue bruise. "You even gave me a black eye! I had to conceal it so it wouldn't be noticeable."

"Now do you remember?" Ann said with a slight smirk.

That's when it all came back to her. Shelly remembered the night before when she and Karen had gotten into their little cat fight.

"You know, I wouldn't have punched you if you would've kept your rude comments to yourself," Shelly remarked to Karen.

"You still had no right to attack me!" Karen whined, wincing as her arm touched the table.

"I was defending Cliff, smartass," Shelly yelped, looking at Cliff as he just stared at her.

"Defending Cliff my ass!" Gray commented. "You hurt Karen and that's that!"

"It's not like I did for the heck of it!" Shelly screamed. "Why are you all treating me like this when half of you don't even know what happened? Like you, Ann. You basically just assumed Karen was right and you didn't even give me a chance to speak!"

Ann remained silent.

"And you, Cliff! Why are you mad at me for trying to protect you, huh?" Shelly spoke loudly as she rose from her chair. Cliff smiled weakly at her.

"Doug, this goes for you too. You can't believe everything your daughter says, can you?" Shelly said.

"Well… she is my daughter," Doug said nervously. "And I can trust her."

"But you're not being fair! You only got one person's side of the story, namely Ann! You didn't even get my view! See how unfair you guys are being?" Shelly was now shouting to everyone in the room, as if she were giving a speech.

The room was absolutely quiet for a few seconds. Just then, Popuri said, "I'm with Blondie!" then got up from her seat to sit next to Shelly.

Elli and Maria were the next ones to stand. "Shelly does have a point," Mary said meekly.

"Yeah, I feel sorry that I acted this way," Elli added as the two took a chair at Shelly's table.

Kai got up from his seat and casually walked over to the table as well. "I'm with you 'cuz you're cute," he said slyly as Shelly rolled her eyes, then smiled. Just then, Cliff arose and walked up to Shelly too.

"I'm sorry for getting mad at you just because you were trying to defend me.... Thanks," he said shyly and took the next available chair next to Shelly. The rest of the guys followed him, not saying a word to her.

"Shelly..." Ann said, on the verge of tears, walking over to Shelly. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't even give you a chance to say anything. And you were right; we were all being unfair. Will... will you forgive me?"

Shelly sat there for a few seconds, then grinned, wiping away a tear from her face. "Of course, Ann! You're my best friend!" she shouted, shooting up from her seat and giving Ann a big hug while they giggled and patted each other on the back. Everybody else cheered and whistled, patting Shelly on the back and apologizing while Karen, on the other side, just sulked. Just then, a loud wail came from her mouth. Everyone shut up, looking at her as she held her hands over her eyes. When she removed them, mascara was running down her eyes and had smeared onto her cheeks and hands too.

"Karen? What's the matter?" Ann asked, concerned.

Karen gave a few sobs and gasps then finally regained the power of speech. "It's not fair!" she screamed. "Nothing's right here anymore... not since _you_ came!" She pointed to Shelly. Shelly gave her the "who-me?" look.

"Yeah, you! You stole my best friend, you stole my popularity and you even stole my good looks! I was supposed to be the perfect one, but ever since you came, it's been you, you, you, you, YOU! Everything is Shelly this, Shelly that! Ooh, Shelly has a new boyfriend, oh, Shelly's so gorgeous, Shelly's got everything, Shelly and Cliff are so cute, ooh!" Karen trailed off and began to cry again.

"That's not true," Shelly began. "I-"

"Shut up! I was so nice to you, trying to start up a friendship, but ever since you took away my best friend, it's worthless! Why should I be nice to anyone who takes away my best friend?"

"Oh, Karen..." Ann said solemnly. "You can still be my best friend. You and Shelly…"

"I don't want to be friends with Ms. Perfe-" Karen started.

"You know, I think you're just jealous," Mary stated. "Jealousy will get you nowhere. Besides, it's one of the seven deadly sins, so... um, you're sinning right now."

"You're… not… _helping_!" Karen bellowed as tears trailed down her face. "You and your smartass remarks... just shut the hell up, geek!"

"Karen," Shelly started softly. "I never tried to take away your best friend. I didn't even know anything! And… perfect? Dream on! I have issues too! Besides, you're getting married! Me, I don't even have a boyfriend."

"You have Cliff," Karen said lamely.

"Ugh… for the last time, Cliff is not my boyfriend," Shelly said blushing. "I have other issues too, like… making friends. I have a terrible attitude…."

"So do I," Karen pointed out.

"I'm not finished. I also yell too much, drink too much wine, and swear a lot."

"So do I," Karen repeated.

"You know, by the sounds of things, you two sound like you could be really good friends," Gray said. "You both have a lot in common."

"Yeah," Tim said sternly. "Gray's correct."

"You see, Karen?" Shelly said encouragingly. "No one's perfect... especially not me."

Karen gave Shelly a half smile, then bowed her head. "Sorry, Shell. I'm such a bitch for all I've done. Can we be... friends?"

"Of course!" Shelly said, grinning. "Under one condition…."

"What's that?" Karen said, the smile fading from her face.

"…Don't call me Shell." Shelly said. She and Karen looked at each other then laughed. Everyone else joined along too. 

__

A/N: Okay... yes, I'm back again with this chapter. Nothing's changed except this authors note because… um, well, I thought of an idea. It's actually a really great idea, in my opinion, LOL. *Ahem* SO! Anyway, my idea was that I could replace this chapter with my idea, and then use this chapter later, or I could just use this one and forget about my idea. If you wanna submit your opinion, e-mail me at _fairyfriend@hmtown.com__. _


	10. Nothing at all

****

Shelly's World  
  
Chapter 10: Nothing at all

It was another bright and sunny morning. Shelly walked outside to get some fresh air, and stretched her arms. She sat down at the bench that was right across from the Inn and relaxed, but to her surprise, she felt something hit her head. She picked up the object, and noticed it was a newspaper.

"What the hell?" Shelly shrieked, looking to see who had thrown it. When she saw the local mailman and a little boy and girl walking together, she quickly covered up for her mistake.

"-Lo, little boy, girl and mailman! How are you today? Fine? Me too!" she blurted as the two children gave her a look and the mailman pretended not to notice. "Boy, how humiliating," she mumbled, taking the rubber band off of the newspaper. She then began to read:

****

Mineral Town: Gossip of the Day  
KAREN AND RICK'S WEDDING WILL BE HELD TOMORROW, SUMMER 23, AT PASTOR CARTER'S CHURCH AT 2:00 PM. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO COME. AND TO CELEBRATE, WE WILL BE HOLDING THE GODDESS FESTIVAL AT ROSE SQUARE THE DAY AFTER AT 2:00 ALSO!

NOTE TO PARTICIPANTS: BRING A FLATTERING OUTFIT AND ANY CD THAT YOU WANT TO BRING. UNLIKE THE NORMAL GODDESS FESTIVAL, THERE WILL BE SINGING, AND MEN ARE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE. GOOD LUCK TO ALL PARTICIPANTS!

Shelly, who was bothered by the newspaper's large capital letters, didn't bother to read the rest; besides, she didn't understand anything about the Goddess Festival. Instead, she headed back inside the Inn and found Ann right in front of her.

"Whoa, Shelly, I didn't know you felt so strongly about me," Ann said, chuckling. Shelly blushed, but covered it up with a tiny laugh. "I was just about to get the newspaper, but it seems like you already got it." Shelly handed the newspaper to Ann, and then she sat down at the table closest to the door as Ann finished the first two paragraphs.

"Oh, Shelly! Isn't this exciting? First the wedding, and then the Goddess Festival!" Ann squealed excitedly, jumping up and down.

"But what exactly is a Goddess Festival?" Shelly questioned.

"You mean you don't know? The Goddess Festival… ah, it's one of the most romantic festivals ever! You see... a boy asks you to the festival the day before, and he escorts you. Then, all the girls get to dress up in these pretty dresses and they dance in front of everybody… except they sing this time," Ann explained.

"Well, this oughta be fun. I know which song I'm singing!" Shelly said and began to laugh. Ann joined her.

"Now that I think about it… I kinda want to join too. Got any CD's?" Ann asked Shelly.

"I'm loaded!" Shelly exclaimed, and ran upstairs with Ann following her. Shelly rummaged through her bags and pulled out her CD player, then unzipped the case with all the CD's she had brought. "Here, you can look through these. There's at least one song in there that I know you'll like."

"Jeez, Shelly… you didn't lie, you have hundreds of CD's!" Ann said, finding a CD to pick. She then got one out and handed it to Shelly. Shelly looked to see which one she had picked.

"'Corrs in Blue?' I love this CD! Their music is fantastic!" Shelly shouted, putting the CD in the CD player and putting it to song eighteen.

"Song eighteen is a good one for you," Shelly remarked. "It's called 'What Can I do'," The song began to play.

"I kinda like it," Ann said, smiling. "I'll do it! All I need to know are the lyrics, though." She laughed.

"Don't worry… I've memorized all the words to this song. I'll write them down for you; why don't you go get us both some breakfast?" Shelly said.

"Okay!" Ann said, still giggling. She then walked out the door, closing it behind her. Shelly started writing the song's lyrics, while she listened to the song. She then drifted off into another world as she started daydreaming about Cliff, because the song's lyrics made her think of him, yet she continued to write. As soon as she finished writing, she grabbed her pillow and started hugging it tightly.

"I love you!" She declared, falling onto her bed with the pillow still in her arms. "I love you, I love you, I love you! You're irresistible! I wish I could just cuddle with you all d-"

"Shelly?" Ann said, standing in front of the door with two plates. "What are you doing?"

Shelly turned as red as a tomato. "Um, nothing," she said, throwing the pillow onto the floor. "Nothing at all…"

"It's about Cliff, isn't it?" Ann said slyly.

"N-no, not at all," Shelly said, embarrassed.

"It isn't? Because I heard a rumor that he likes you," Ann said, grinning like an idiot.

"Really?" Shelly yelped happily, jumping on the bed.

"Haha, gotcha!" Ann said, cracking up, placing the plate on the desk next to Shelly's bed. Shelly stopped jumping and glared at Ann.

"Oh, c'mon, Shelly, it was just a little joke," Ann said, the smile wearing off her face.

"You're becoming a whole lot like your dad," Shelly said, giggling a bit.

"And you're still the same with your sense of humor as you were when you came a month ago!" Ann said, smiling. "But you don't cry so much about it anymore. In fact, I think I've seen a whole new side to you… like, you're a whole new person."

"Please don't start the dramatic movie talk," Shelly moaned.

"I'm serious, Shelly!" Ann said. "I mean, I think you've gotten stronger in your emotions. You've learned to fight physically instead of running up to your room and bawling your eyes out."

"Actually, I took karate back in the city," Shelly said. "And I still bawl my eyes out when someone cracks a cruel joke at me."

"Oh," Ann said flatly. "Well, anyway, eat up. Breakfast is getting cold."

Shelly and Ann then began to eat. After Shelly took two bites, she got up from her bed, and grabbed the papers, which had the lyrics to the song Ann was going to sing, along with the CD.

"I almost forgot… I finished writing the lyrics to the song you're going to sing, and here's the CD. It's the very last song on the disc." She said.

"Thanks, Shelly," Ann said, and took the two out of Shelly's hands. Just then, the door opened and in walked Cliff.

"Hey, Cliff," Shelly and Ann said in unison.

"Hey Shelly," Cliff said, sitting down on her bed. "Hey, Ann."

Out of the corner of her eye, Shelly could see Ann giving her the thumbs up sign. Shelly giggled.

"What's so funny?" Cliff asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Shelly said, laughing to herself. "Nothing at all."

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(A/N): Hi, everyone! I'm back… finally! I'm sorry about the long wait; it's just that I've been grounded. (I'm failing Algebra) Also, I'm sorry if the chapter is too short… Haha, I've been getting TONS of e-mails for me to hurry up and write the next chapter. I can tell this is sorta a popular story amongst my other ones, so this is the one I'll be writing the most of. But if any of you were wondering about Mineral Village in Romance, people's third favorite, I'm sick of that story. I seriously hate it! But I wrote one more chapter to end it all… although it's not very good. BUT ANYWAY, I'm getting off topic! XD For this story, I decided to put my idea after that chapter, LOL, since only **ONE PERSON **read that last Authors Note. Aaaaaaaand, I have another one for you guys to take ('Cuz some people already voted.)

Should Shelly stay friends with Karen? (AKA, should I stop writing my idea?)

YES or NO? XD TAKE YOUR PICK! And I hope not only one person votes this time… hehe. Maybe some of you aren't actually reading my story and are just saying, "GOOD JOB!" Or maybe-

****

Audience: SHUT UP ALREADY!

All right, all right… but I DO have one more thing to say.

****

Audience: *groan*

*Ahem* Yeah, anyway… um, I already finished writing some more chapters, one that supports the idea, and the other that doesn't. (BTW, this is like, a few days after I wrote all that stuff) And so far, the results are:

Yes: 1

No: 3

So yeah… keep voting! Sorry this Authors Note is half as long as the frickin' chapter!


	11. Until You Came

Shelly's World

Chapter 11: Until You Came

It was the big day, the day of Karen and Rick's wedding. Shelly woke up anxiously as she put some casual clothes on. She then ran downstairs and up to Doug, who was behind the counter.

"Hey, Shell-for-brains! What'll you have today?" Doug joked.

Shelly glared at him. "I'd like the Ann's Special Omelet, please," she announced. Ann looked over her shoulder, and smiled at Shelly.

"One Special Omelet comin' right up!" Doug said cheerfully. "Ann, it's time to show Shelly what you've got!"

Ann grinned even bigger. "Right away! Made specially for Shelly!" she declared, and then ran into the kitchen.

"That'll be 250G," Doug said, holding out his hand. Shelly scowled.

"I was joking," Doug pointed out. "I know you came here empty-handed…. Poor irresponsible girl." He then laughed.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Shelly mumbled as she sat down at a table. Just then, the kitchen's door slammed open. There stood Ann holding a metal tray with a metal top.

"One Ann's Special Omelet!" She shouted as she walked over to Shelly's table. "Enjoy the food." Ann then took off the metal top as steam arose from the food. As soon as Shelly got even one whiff of the omelet, she started to dig in.

"Good, huh?" Doug said. "It's called Ann's Special Omelet for a reason, you know."

"Yeah! It's my secret recipe! Not even Daddy knows what it is!" Ann exclaimed. "I don't want anybody to know, otherwise we might run out of business!"

"I wish I could cook," Shelly said between mouthfuls. "I'm terrible at cooking!"

"You're just like Karen; she can't cook either!" Ann said giggling. "Well, that's probably because she puts alcohol into everything she makes."

Shelly literally began to lick her plate clean. "Poor Rick will have to do all the cooking, I guess," she said.

"You know, when we're both free, I could try to teach you how to cook," Ann exclaimed.

"That'd be great, Ann! Would you really teach me?" Shelly shouted happily.

"Of course! That's what best friends do!" Ann said, smiling. Shelly grinned back.

"Well, c'mon, Ann, let's go get ready for Karen and Rick's wedding!" Shelly coaxed.

"What, are you crazy? It's only seven 'o clock! We have seven more hours until the wedding even starts!" Ann said, then paused. "You know, right now would be a great time to teach you how to cook."

"Then let's go!" Shelly shrieked, running toward the kitchen door. As soon as she opened the door, she gasped in shock.

"Cool, isn't it?" Ann said behind her. Shelly nodded. "We have all the ingredients in this cabinet," Ann said, pointing to a cabinet, "and the recipes and raw food are right over there." She pointed to a garden in the very back.

"Are you sure I can just take your crops off of your plants?" Shelly asked curiously.

"Of course! That's what they're there for! Of course, only certain crops grow in certain seasons," Ann pointed out. "And also, we have chickens in a barn, so we get plenty of eggs a day."

"That is so cool," Shelly said, gaping at the room. "You have everything!"

Ann then walked outside to grab a recipe. She then walked inside and handed her the paper.

"Here… let's start out by making just a regular old omelet," Ann said, then grinning. "Not with my secret spice, though, of course!" She then giggled.

"It looks a little hard… do you think I'll be able to make it?" Shelly asked.

"Of course! I'll be getting ready for Karen and Rick's wedding while you can go ahead and make it. After I'm finished getting dressed, I'll see how you've done," Ann said reassuringly.

"Okay," Shelly said. As soon as Ann walked out the door, Shelly looked at the first ingredient.

"Two eggs," she said to herself. She walked out the door, which led to the garden, then walked into the barn. She picked up two eggs without managing to get pecked or squawked at by the chickens. She quickly ran back into the Inn and cracked the eggs against the table, then poured the contents into a bowl. She then grabbed a fork from the counter and began to scramble the eggs. After she finished, she grabbed a salt and pepper shaker and put a little bit of both into the bowl. She then got some cheese from the refrigerator, and some peppers from the garden and chopped them up with a knife, then placed the ingredients into the bowl with the eggs. After that, she grabbed a pan, set it on the stove, and turned on the heat, then put the contents of the bowl into the pan. As soon as she thought the omelet was done, Ann walked into the kitchen. She wore a turquoise and yellow tie-dye dress with high-heeled black shoes and her white bow was now blue.

"Ann, you look terrific!" Shelly exclaimed. Ann walked over to where Shelly was.

"So does your omelet!" Ann said. "Can I try it?"

"Sure, go ahead," Shelly replied. She took the egg off the pan and onto a plate. Ann got a fork and took a bite.

"Wow, this is pretty good," Ann said after she swallowed. "I think I'll eat the rest… that is, if you don't mind."

"Of course not! How about I get dressed while you finish that," Shelly suggested.

"Okay! Sounds good to me," Ann remarked. Shelly then walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room. She searched for a good outfit to wear. She then found her black tube-top dress with red flowers decorated on it. She also pulled out her slip on black shoes and she took her hair out of her ponytail. She then walked out the door and down the stairs. She then heard somebody whistle.

"Hey, good-looking," Shelly heard. She turned her head to find Kai giving her the thumbs up. "You look like you're ready for a big party!"

"Actually, Kai, it's a wedding," Shelly commented, looking at Kai's gangster outfit. "Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," he remarked. "It's all cool."

Shelly continued to ignore him as she walked back into the kitchen to find Ann stuffing Shelly's omelet into her face. She noticed there was only one piece of it left, and she was curious to see how she had made her own food.

"Wait, Ann," Shelly said quickly. "Can I have that last bite?"

"Sure, I'm getting full anyway," Ann moaned. Shelly took a fork from a cabinet and dug into her food. She was pleased with her own work.

"I hate to brag, but I actually really like my omelet," Shelly said.

"Me too! You're not such a terrible cook like you say you are," Ann replied. "And I just love your outfit!"

"So does Kai," Shelly said with a hint of laughter. Ann giggled with her.

"I wonder what time it is," Ann said, while she looked at the clock at the top of the room. "1:30… we should be going."

"Yeah, c'mon! We don't want to be late," Shelly said. The two walked out the kitchen door, then out the front. On their way, they spotted Kai running past them, still in his gangster clothes.

"I wonder what in the world he's doing," Ann said suspiciously.

"Yeah, and why he's not dressed properly for the wedding," Shelly replied. The girls just shrugged it off and found their way to the church. As soon as they got there, they noticed that mostly everyone was there. Ann spotted Cliff and smiled at Shelly.

"Hey Shelly, let's go talk to Cliff!" Ann said excitedly. Shelly, blushing furiously, nodded her head and walked with Ann to where Cliff was. Cliff smiled and waved.

"Hey, Shelly and Ann," he said sweetly. Shelly wanted to melt, but tried to act cool.

"Hi, Cliff, how are you today?" Shelly said, smiling.

"I'm great! The weather is fantastic, and everyone seems so happy," he commented. "Today's perfect!"

"Weddings are so romantic, aren't they?" Ann said, eyeing Shelly. Shelly's eyes begged Ann not to give out any hints.

"Yeah, they are," Cliff said. "It'd be great to have my own sometime soon."

"Mine too!" Ann said cheerfully. "Except there's no one that I'd want to marry here!" She then giggled insanely as Cliff and Shelly cheeks turned a dark crimson red.

"Well, w-we should be heading inside the church," Cliff stammered.

"Yeah," Shelly said flatly. The two walked away from Ann, who was still giggling uncontrollably.

"Wait for me, you guys!" Ann shouted as she tried to catch up with the two. As soon as they met, Cliff and Shelly were talking with each other. Ann sat down with them. Just then, Mary began to play the church organs. The room became silent.

"Friends and family… thank you all for coming on this special occasion," the man, who Shelly thought was Pastor Carter, said. "Today, we celebrate the wedding of Karen Smith and Richard Yamashita." Rick, who was at the front, scowled. Shelly figured that Rick hated his real name.

Suddenly, a loud weep came from the audience. It was Rick's mother, sobbing uncontrollably. Popuri tried to calm her down. She didn't succeed.

The organ played once again. The doors then opened, as Karen stepped into the room wearing a white dress that went above her knees and a glimmering white veil that went over her face.

"Slut," Cliff coughed. Shelly giggled as she saw the little girl she met earlier when the newspaper had hit her. She was throwing flower pedals all over the floor. As soon as Karen reached the front, the little girl ran to the nearest row and sat down.

"Before I begin the sermon… whoever objects to this marriage, speak now, or forever hold your peace." Pastor Carter said.

Nobody spoke.

"Alright, good. Now, moving on…. Rick, do you take Karen to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Pastor Carter said.

"I do," he said sincerely.

"Karen, do you take Rick to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," Karen said nervously.

"You may now kiss the bride," Pastor Carter declared. The two kissed passionately in front of everyone, then walked down the aisle.

"Um… where exactly was the sermon?" said Shelly.

"I know, I know… Pastor Carter is very strange. You should hear his speeches," Cliff said. Everybody started walking outside to where the food and drinks were. Shelly vowed not to drink another glass of wine.

"I'm so thirsty!" Pastor Carter screeched as he walked out of the church. "My throat is parched from all that speaking!" Shelly, Cliff, and Ann all gave him a weird look.

"Told you he was strange," Cliff said, laughing. Shelly and Ann snickered.

"I think I'm going to go get some wine; you two wanna come along with me?" Ann said.

"No thanks," Shelly said, laughing nervously. "You know why."

Ann giggled. "Oh yeah," she said. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone." She then skipped off to where the food was.

"So," Cliff began, "what'd you think of the wedding?"

"It was pretty strange," Shelly replied. "Without the sermon… and Karen in that skanky dress."

Cliff laughed. "Yeah, I know… that was disturbing. She always dresses in short clothes. I think she's trying to show off her legs."

"She did mention that she was the prettiest girl here," Shelly said, smirking.

"She's not," Cliff said. "You are."

Shelly blushed immensely. "Gee, th-thanks, Cliff," she said, stumbling on her words.

"Well, it's true," he replied, blushing too. "She doesn't have that pretty look that you seem to have."

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," Shelly commented. "Well, okay, one of the nicest." She looked near the food court. She saw that people were leaving, yet Ann was still chugging on wine. Cliff checked his watch. 

"Wow, 7:00 already?" He said to his watch. "It's getting late; I think we should be heading back home."

"Yeah," Shelly said. "We should."

So the two walked back to the Inn. On the way, Cliff's hand found Shelly's. They walked hand-in-hand the rest of the way.

Shelly knocked on the Inn's door. No one came.

"No one's answering," Shelly complained.

"It's probably locked," Cliff replied. The two sat at the bench across from the Inn. Their hands remained glued.

"It's pretty dark outside," Shelly stammered, trying to find her voice.

"Yeah," Cliff remarked. "Just look at the stars."

Shelly looked up. "They're so gorgeous!" She whispered. "I love how brightly they shine."

"Me too," said Cliff. They remained mum, until Cliff finally decided to speak up. "I have something to ask you… although it may sound sorta embarrassing."

"Yeah? What is it?" Shelly asked curiously.

"Well, I uh…" he started. He could seem to finish his sentence. He gently wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Shelly's hand around her neck and started playing with her hair. Shelly rested her hand on his shoulder. She started hiccuping.

"Sorry," Shelly stuttered. "I'm sorta nervous." She hiccuped once again.

"That's okay," Cliff whispered. "Take your time."

Shelly swallowed the lump in her throat then held her breath. After ten seconds, she continued breathing again, and then slowly started to lean in towards him. He did the same. Shelly could feel him breathing on her. Just then, out of nowhere, came a deliriously happy shriek.

"Cliffie and Shelly!" She shouted with joy. "How great to see you!"

Shelly slid her hand off of Cliff's shoulder to his elbow and leaned back, sorely disappointed. Cliff took his other hand off of her neck, yet continued to hold her hand.

"How come you two are out here all alone on such a dark night?" Ann slurred. Shelly figured the wine had gone to her head.

"Because the door-"

"Wait, don't tell me!" Ann screeched. "You two were making out! Right, right, right?"

"Well, no," Shelly sulked, then mumbled, "but we were about to."

"Until you came," Cliff finished.

"How romantic!" She screamed. "Oh well! Time to go inside!" She opened the door without a key. "Come on in, you guys!"

"Guess it wasn't locked after all," Shelly said, feeling stupid, but utterly depressed at the same time. Shelly and Cliff then went inside the Inn to their rooms and went to bed. Shelly then silently cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Haha! Left ya in suspence, huh? XP You thought it was the big moment, didn't you? Well... it wasn't! LOL! I'm just being stupid, R&R, please! :D 


	12. Tears

Shelly's World

Chapter 12: Tears

Shelly awoke to the brightness of the sun. She stretched her arms and looked at her watch. It read 6:00 AM. She sighed, then quickly put on the outfit that she had worn last night, then made her way downstairs. Shelly saw Ann standing behind the counter with Doug, and Cliff sitting at a table with his legs crossed. When she saw him, an image of what happened the night before crossed her mind. She tried to forget about it, but her mood immediately changed from normal to pissed off.

"Hey, Shelly! How're you feeling?" Ann said cheerfully.

"Just peachy," Shelly mumbled under her breath.

"You don't sound like it to me," Ann said, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"No," Shelly said. "And you know why, too." She looked over her shoulder to make sure Cliff couldn't hear her.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Ann said, chuckling nervously.

Shelly pulled Ann toward a corner. "Last night! It was our only chance we had together!" Shelly whispered with her teeth clenched.

"Who?" Ann asked.

"Cliff and me!" Shelly screeched silently. "We were going to kiss but you came in and ruined our only chance!"

"Gee, Shelly, I'm sorry," Ann said sympathetically. "I must not have known what I was doing. I drank a lot of wine at that wedding."

"I could tell," Shelly said facetiously as she looked over at Cliff. Cliff looked up from the table. Shelly blushed and looked away. "I've got to go."

"Where?" Ann said, shocked.

"To the beach," Shelly replied immediately. "I need some relaxation time." She then quickly made her way there. She saw Kai making his way to the beach as well, and followed him. He spun around as soon as they made it, then smiled.

"Why, hello, Shell," Kai said. "I never thought I'd see you here."

"Well, I'm here," Shelly said pathetically. "I just came here to relax." She then walked toward the pier. Kai walked toward her.

"Don't you want to talk to your favorite man?" Kai said in an overly sweet voice. "I love talking to chicks I dig."

"No," Shelly snapped. "I just want to be alone."

"Well at least give me a kiss," Kai said, leaning toward her. A shocked Shelly felt his lips brush against her, and she quickly pushed him away. She didn't know that Cliff had come onto the beach too.

"What are you doing?" Shelly sneered.

"I just want some lovin'," Kai said, trying to hug her. Shelly made an attempt to free herself, but then Cliff walked over.

"What the hell are you two doing?" He yelped. Shelly jumped a mile and looked up at him.

"It's not what it looks like!" Shelly complained. "Really! He's a chick molester!"

"No, no, my man, the lady's got it all wrong," Kai said reassuringly. "She said she came here to see me because she was upset, and the next thing you know, she was all over me."

"Player!" Cliff shouted to her. Shelly could feel her eyes getting filled up with tears. "I should've known you were just another Mary-Sue bitch! Maybe I shouldn't have come here to see if you were okay, because it's obvious you were having the time of your life with Kai!"

"Cliff…" Shelly whispered, her voice cracking. He stormed out of the beach, cursing angrily under his breath. "Look what you've done, Kai!"

"What? It's not like you two were an item, right? Besides, I'm better than that homeless hobo is. I've got the skills and the bling-bling. I'm your man!"

"Cliff is a kind and gentle sweetheart who sticks up for his friends and tells the truth!" Shelly shrieked angrily. "You are a good-for-nothing player of a bastard who lies and makes out with any girl you can get your damned hands on!" She kicked him in the groin, which sent him flying into the ocean. "This is for screwing up my relationship with Cliff!" She screamed. She jumped in the water and pushed him under and back up again, then punched him in the face. "And that's for everything else you've done to screw up my friend's– or anybody else's- lives!" Shelly then got out of the ocean, her clothes and hair now dripping wet. "I hope you rot in hell!" she screamed, running back to the Inn, crying. Ann rushed up to her friend.

"Shelly, you look terrible; are you alright?" Ann asked nicely.

"Does it look like I'm alright?" Shelly said between sobs. She looked up at Ann. "This is all Kai's fault! He tried to kiss me, and Cliff saw… and he thought we were making out." Shelly cried harder. Ann tried to comfort her.

"Aw, don't cry," Ann said. "I know Cliff still loves you. I mean, he loved you enough to go to the beach and see if you were alright."

"But he doesn't love me enough to give me a chance," Shelly wailed. "He would only listen to Kai, which means he doesn't trust me!"

"But maybe Kai's story was more realistic… even though it was a lie." Ann sat down in a chair. "I know he loves you, Shelly. He's a trustworthy person and most of the time he can tell a lie from the truth, but he must've thought you were lying. You have to tell him. I can tell there will be a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that he'll listen to you."

"And if the point one chance were to happen?" Shelly said.

"Don't be so down on yourself! If the point one chance were to happen, hell would freeze over." Ann said, giggling a little bit.

"And I'd be going Jerry Springer on Kai's ass," Shelly said, wiping the tears off her face. "Although I just cussed him out at the beach and threw him into the ocean." She and Ann laughed. Just then, an idea popped into Shelly's head.

"Ann… I've got an idea," Shelly said, grinning. Ann looked at her friend.

"What is it?" Ann asked.

"Instead of telling Cliff in words… how about I tell him in song!" Shelly said, and jumped up and down. "Yeah! It's a great idea!"

"It is!" Ann said. "And your Michelle Branch song is perfect!"

"You mean 'Are You Happy now'?" Shelly said. "You're right… it is." She glanced down at her feet. "I never realized that."

"Plus, it's a really beautiful song that Cliff's sure to love," Ann replied. "Especially since you're singing it."

"I'm not that good," Shelly commented.

"Yes, you are!" Ann shouted. "You've got talent running through your blood vessels!"

"No I don't…. Anyway, don't you think we should be going soon?" Shelly said impatiently, trying to change the subject.

"Um…" Ann started as she checked her watch. "Holy shit, we're gonna be late! Let's go!" She grabbed Shelly's arm.

"Wait!" She shrieked. "I can't go out there looking like this!" She pointed to her frizzy, soggy hair and her bleeding mascara, along with her dress, which was dripping with saltwater.

"We don't have any time! We have to leave right now!" Ann shouted. "Now, come on!" She ran out the door to the square. Shelly dragged her feet and followed her there. As soon as they were there, the whole village was crowded around a wooden stage. The people were chatting and shouting, until the Mayor walked up. He looked sickeningly happy. Shelly cringed.

"Hello, fellow citizens of Mineral Village! Thank you for coming to this special occasion!" He announced. The audience roared with applause.

"Okay, okay, settle down," he said calmly. Eventually, the crowd grew silent. "Our first contestant today is Karen Yamashita, singing 'Cherry Lips' by Garbage!" There was applause as a happy Karen pranced onstage. The introduction began to play. She then sang happily:

She gave you everything she had,  
But she was young and dumb,  
She just turned 21.  
She didn't have to hang around.  
So when she shit came down, why, she was nowhere to be found.  
This life can turn a good girl bad.  
She was the sweetest thing that you had ever seen!

Shelly continued to watch Karen sing, as she smiled happily. Just then, she heard a voice from the audience. 

"What a slut!" The voice said. Shelly turned around to find Cliff giving her the thumbs down sign. Karen glared at him and flipped him off, then changed the lyrics of her song.

With your stupid signs and ugly hair,  
You could make grown girls gasp,  
When you go walking past them,  
'Cause you're such an ugly freak.  
No one can believe that such a hairdo is for real.  
It seemed like dark clouds would appear,  
Whenever you came here the green would disappear,  
Because you look just like a bitch,  
Your freaking hair makes you look like a little girl!

Karen sneered at Cliff, then continued her song, although the audience murmured harsh things about her song, and the Mayor had a look of disapproval on his face. As soon as the song ended, the audience clapped pathetically and the Mayor gave her a look as she happily jumped off the stage, blowing everyone kisses. She then skipped back to the audience.

"Um, thank you, Karen. That was very…" he started to say, then coughed, "…interesting."

The audience said nothing.

"So… next up, we have Ann Green singing 'What Can I Do' by the Corrs!" The Mayor announced. The audience clapped for her as she smiled and walked up on stage and began to sing. Shelly smiled as she listened to Ann's voice. It was beautiful. She sounded like an angel to Shelly, but the song made her sad. A picture of an angry Cliff popped into her head and she stopped smiling. She remembered that her song was supposed to be her emotional feelings toward him.

Ann stopped singing. The audience gave her a long round of applause as the Mayor walked up onto the stage.

"Thank you, Ann, for your terrific voice tonight!" The Mayor said happily. The crowd cheered louder.

"Okay, that's enough," the Mayor said. The crowd continued to cheer. "I said that's enough!" He said sharply. The audience quickly shut up. "So! Next up, we have Cliff singing 'Behind Blue Eyes' by Limp Bizkit!" There was, yet again, a loud applause as Cliff walked casually on stage and the music began to play.

No one knows what it's like to be the bad man,  
to be the sad man,  
Behind blue eyes.  
No one knows what it's like to be hated,  
to be faded, to telling only lies.

But my dreams; they aren't as empty  
as my conscience seems to be.  
I have hours, only lonely.  
My love is vengeance  
that's never free

Shelly listened to the song. It was so beautiful! She could hear Cliff's smooth, clear voice, and it made her want to melt and also cry at the same time. A tear trickled down her cheek as she bit her lip. More tears came down onto her delicate cheeks. She looked down at the ground as her tears hit the concrete. The music then ended. The audience cheered for Cliff as he smiled and walked off the stage and the Mayor walked on.

"Yes… that was a wonderful song. It really spoke to me; how about you guys?" the Mayor shouted happily. The audience screamed with cheer for Cliff. The Mayor laughed. "Well… next we have Shelly singing 'Are you Happy now' by Michelle Branch." Everyone gave her a round of applause as she slowly walked up on stage. She had butterflies in her stomach as she grabbed the microphone.

"Hello, everyone, I know I look pretty bad, but that's sorta classified," she said quietly and chuckled nervously, wiping the tears off her face. The audience was mum. "Um… before I begin, I just want to say that this song is dedicated to someone out there in the audience that means a whole lot to me." The audience clapped for her. "This audience will cheer for anything," Shelly thought. The music began.

Now, don't just walk away,  
pretending everything's okay,  
and you don't care about me.  
And I know it's just no use,  
And all your lies become your truths,  
and I don't care!

Could'ja look me in the eye,  
And tell me that you're happy now,  
Would'ja tell it to my face,  
Or have I been erased,  
Are you happy now?  
Are you happy now?

She kept singing. While she did, tears flooded from her eyes. She couldn't stop crying. She put her heart and soul into her singing. When she finished, the audience didn't clap for her. She sobbed.

"I care!" She wailed, pounding her fist onto her hand. "I want you back, dammit! You know I can stand the hardest hardships! I will always keep you in spirit, mind, body, and soul. You, of all people, are the only one whom gives me strength to carry on in a harsh reality called life! I may be young, but I am certainly not a fool. I know I have found the only true person whom gives me happiness, something so scarce, rare, and precious to me. I will never stop thinking about you! Be it hell through life, you will be, and are, my only grip to this world, my only finger, hanging to a cliff, and underneath lies a world of incompleteness, and oblivion and nothingness! If I cannot find you in this hell on earth we call life, I will have an eternity to find you in the afterlife and then when I finally do, I will have you in my arms forever for the infinite eternities to come! You can be wiped out from this world, and all I would have is nothing but a faint distant, unclear memory of you, and still, I would remain faithful, staying alive for the simple reason that I may once again find you. I promise you that I will always think of you, even in the afterlife. Promise me something, even if you should stop caring about me, that we will reunite in the afterlife…." Shelly took a big, shaky breath. The audience went out of control as they screamed and shouted for her. She walked off the stage with tears in her eyes as Ann ran up to her, shrieking happily.

"Wow, Shelly! That was so deep! Look, even the audience loves it! They love you!" Ann said, jumping up and down, smiling, but stopped when she noticed Shelly was crying. "Shelly, are you alright?"

"No," Shelly whimpered. She ran to the end of the square near the beach, where no one was standing while "My Immortal" by Evanescence began to play.

I'm so tired of being here,  
Suppressed by all my childish fears,  
And if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave.  
'Cause your presence still lingers here,  
And it won't leave me alone.

She sat down and sobbed all the tears she could get out of her eyes. Just then, she heard a pair of footsteps walking her way. She kept her head buried in her knees and didn't bother to look up.

These wounds won't seem to heal,  
this pain is just too real.  
There's just too much that time cannot erase.

"Need a hand?"

Shelly looked up. It was Cliff. He was holding out his hand. Shelly held onto it as Cliff pulled her up.

"Your song really spoke to me," he whispered. "And so did your speech." He then paused and cleared his throat. "Also, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened at the beach this morning. I overheard Kai talking to Gray that he was angry at you because he tried to make out with you, but you threw him in the water."

"It's okay," Shelly said, smiling. His apology made her feel like crying again. A few tears made their way down her cheek.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears.  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears.  
I held your hand through all of these years.

"Why the tears?" Cliff said, walking closer to her and wiped away her tears with his thumb. He then put his hand onto her shoulder. "You've got such a beautiful face. Don't cry; I want to see that sweet smile." Shelly then smiled weakly, and then she and Cliff embraced in a long hug.

But you still have  
all of me.

They continued to stay in each other's arms until the song ended. When the audience applauded, Cliff took a step back.

"Well, I guess we should be heading back," Cliff said, smiling sweetly. He started to make his way back.

"No, Cliff… wait." Shelly said, feeling brave. This was the day that she was going to tell him. He stopped and walked toward her.

"What's up?" He whispered.

Shelly gulped, but tried not to stare into his chocolate brown eyes. "Well… I…" she started. "I l-lo… I love… I loved your song," she got out. She wanted to smack herself and jump off a cliff.

"Thanks. You were really great t-" Cliff started.

"No. No, Cliff, that's not what I wanted to say… although that's true." Shelly said, then took a breath. "What I wanted to say was that… well…" she paused, "I-I love you."

Cliff just stood there, saying nothing. He looked at the girl who was gazing into his eyes and tears brimmed in his eyes. He sniffed. "I love you too, Shelly. I love you too." He said gently. They embraced into another hug. Shelly wiped off the tears from his face as she leaned in closer to Cliff. Cliff got closer to her too, and pretty soon, their lips met. Shelly felt butterflies in her stomach and her heartbeat went at a faster tempo. When they broke apart, the couple looked each other in the eyes. Shelly's mind was racing.

"We kissed," she thought happily. "We actually kissed for once! I can't believe it!" She leaned in for another kiss. This one was longer and more passionate. When they finished, the audience went wild. Cliff and Shelly looked over to see what was happening. Everyone in Mineral Village was looking at them, clapping and cheering for the two.

"I guess we were part of the show," Shelly said, giggling.

I guess so… look, we're getting this applause and now… Ann's running up to us," he said, grinning. Ann stopped in front of them.

"You guys are so fantastic!" She screeched.

"Why, thanks… I didn't know we kissed that w-" Shelly started to say.

"You two won second and third place in the festival!" She finished. Shelly and Cliff looked at each other.

I guess they weren't watching us after all," Shelly whispered to Cliff. He laughed.

"Well, c'mon, you guys! Everyone's waiting for you!" Ann shouted cheerfully. She ran back to the crowd. Shelly and Cliff followed along, hands linked. The Mayor greeted them with a gruesome grin. Shelly's grin turned into a cheesy, nervous smile.

"Congratulations, Shelly," the Mayor announced, "for winning second place for your wonderful song and that powerful speech!" He handed her a strange looking berry, which looked like a burnt apple. "And congratulations, Cliff, for winning third place for your song, which spoke to us all!" Cliff took the second strange berry and placed it in his pocket. "And first place goes to…" The Mayor started. Shelly could overhear Karen running toward the Mayor shouting, "It's me! I know it is! Oh, thank you so much, Mayor!"

"…Ann Green!" the Mayor finished. Everyone except for Karen cheered. Ann screamed with delight and ran up to grab her trophy with another strange berry in it.

"What the hell?" Karen screeched. She stormed up to the stage. "Mine was much better than Ann's pathetic song, Shelly's stupid speech, and Cliff's horrendous 'heart-breaker'!"

"Karen?" Shelly said, astonished. "What's your problem? I thought we were friends!"

"Um, no," Karen remarked, then laughed wickedly. "I can't believe you fell for that! I guess those acting lessons really did come in handy!"

"Where'd you get acting lessons?" Cliff said firmly. "From Manna?"

"Hey!" a lady shrieked from the audience. Shelly was sure it was Manna. "It just so happens that I really suck at acting and that was really rude of you to just come out of the blue and announce that in front of the whole entire audience! I mean, really, come on; people like that just make me sick! I really feel like throwing up right now! Does anyone here have a bucket for me to hurl in because I don't have one? If so-"

"Shut the hell up, already!" Karen lashed. "Damn! Sometimes I wonder why Duke married you!" She coughed. "No, actually… I used to live in the city. Didn't any of you notice that I'm the only girl, besides Shell," she started, accenting Shelly's least favorite nickname, "that wears shorts and not those stupid dresses that every other girl wears?"

"At least I don't act like a slut!" Popuri cried from the audience. She walked up to Karen.

"Well, I'm not the freak with pink hair and red eyes!" Karen roared. "Why should I listen to a whiny little bitch like you anyway?"

"I'll take care of this!" Shelly screamed. She then punched Karen in the face, knocking her out cold. The audience gasped. Shelly turned red.

"Uh, sorry…" she mumbled nervously. "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's about time somebody got rid of that whore!" Mary hollered. Everyone gasped again. "…What? They talk about whores in the bible!" She said quietly. Everyone then cheered for Shelly. She ran up to Cliff, and they hugged each other slightly, then kissed. The cheering got louder.

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A/N: Hiya, peoples! Thanks for sticking with me through all of those chapters! Hehe, no, no, it's not done quite yet… although it will be soon. XDD But I just wanna thank everyone_ for reading and reviewing my story. I'll do the looooooooooooong thanking at the end. (Y'know, the one where I list everyone's name, then the thank you note afterward. If you still don't get what I'm saying, it's that…thing that everyone's been doing.) So… um, I've still got about two or three chapters until the end. XD Also, I've been thinking of another Shelly's World, 'cept in Shelly's POV. (Since I know you all seem to appreciate her strong, bitter attitude. XD) so, um… that's all I have to say, I guess. Hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter (and all the other chapters before, and to come!)_

Fairy Friend


	13. A Sad Departure

**Shelly's World**

**Chapter 13: A Sad Departure**

* * *

"Daddy, I'm gonna get the mail, okay?" Ann said cheerfully the next morning. Her father acknowledged her with a nod, and she was out the door. A few seconds later, she walked back in the Inn with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong, Ann?" Doug asked curiously.

"There's a letter here for Shelly," she said, confused. "I have no clue who knew she was staying here at our Inn, but whoever it is must know her."

"Bring it here," Doug said, motioning her his way. She handed the letter to him as he examined it. "It says it's from 'Dad'. He's writing to her again?"

"He's probably worried about her," Ann replied with a smirk. "Wouldn't you be worried if I were at some random place that almost no one knew about?"

"Well, yes," He said, chuckling. "Why don't you go hand this letter to her? She's upstairs."

"With Cliff," She added, laughing too. "Who knows what they're doing up there." She walked up the stairs anyway. As soon as she got to their door, she heard giggling. She took a big breath, and slowly opened the door. She then saw Cliff and Shelly cuddling and kissing.

"Ew, you guys," she commented. The two stopped what they were doing and their eyes bulged.

"Um…" Shelly stuttered. "What are you doing up here?"

"Well, I hate to interrupt your little…" Ann started, then coughed, "…um, romance scene, but Shelly just got a letter."

"Who's it from?" Shelly said, holding out her hand.

"You'll see," Ann pronounced, throwing the letter to her as she quickly bolted out the door. Shelly picked up the letter then opened it and read:

_Dear Shelly,_

_Hi. Your mother told me I'm furious with you! I can't believe you left Shelly at that place all by herself, so here I am, writing this letter to you. She told me that Shelly needs to pack her things immediately because I'm worried sick about her. That's all._

_Dad_

Shelly's face turned melancholy as Cliff took the paper from her hands and read it solemnly to himself. "Oh, Shelly," he whispered, and then hugged her tightly.

"I don't want to leave," Shelly said. "I'm enjoying life here. Besides, I'm almost seventeen. I should be getting married soon."

"Your parents would probably get angry, though," Cliff said.

"What about your parents? You're a traveler, aren't you?" Shelly asked.

Cliff took a big breath. "You see… my dad died before I was born. He used to be a traveler like I was, and my mom told me he got attacked by a wolf in the woods. Then, when I was twelve, things weren't going so well in our family, so I ran away to a strange village. I came back because the village didn't suit my taste, and as soon as I reached my city, it looked as if a tornado had wrecked it all up. And, to top it all off, there was my mom, lying under all of the destruction."

"Wow… that's terrible," Shelly said silently.

"Yeah," Cliff said, his lower lip quivering. "No one knows what happened to my sister, either."

"I can't believe all of this happened to you," said Shelly quietly. The two of them said nothing.

"Well, we'd better pack your stuff. You're gonna have to leave as soon as possible," Cliff said, breaking the momentary silence. Shelly nodded sadly as she got off the bed and pulled her suitcase from under the bed. When they were packing her clothes, their hands touched. Shelly looked up at Cliff, and then started wailing. Tears spewed out of her eyes as she grabbed onto him. Cliff rubbed the girl's back, feeling the same way that she did.

"Oh, sweetie… I'll write to you as much as I can, I promise," Cliff said, smiling. He then kissed her lightly on the lips. "Come on, let's go downstairs. Maybe a glass of water will make you feel better."

Shelly nodded her head as she opened the door and walked out with Cliff behind her. As soon as she reached the bottom, Popuri came running up to her, sobbing uncontrollably.

"No! Shelly, you can't leave!" Popuri whined. "Everybody loves you!"

"I'm sorry, Popuri. I love it here, but I also miss my family dearly," Shelly replied, smiling sadly.

"But… but, you stood up for me!" Popuri exclaimed. "No one else here does that for me! Besides, couldn't you just bring your family down here?"

Shelly didn't answer her. Instead, she walked to a table and slouched down.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's upset about your departure," Cliff whispered. Shelly turned around.

"Everyone's making me want to leave less than before," Shelly said, sniffing. She wiped her eyes. "My family would disapprove the idea of them moving here."

Popuri sat down at their table. "Why?"

"Well, my dad already ditched me here," Shelly started, "and my brother doesn't like trying new things at all."

"You have a brother?" Cliff said astonishingly.

Shelly, embarrassed, nodded her head. "Yeah. He's only ten years old and a pain in the ass, but I love him anyway."

"What's his name?" Popuri asked her.

"Jack. Annoying and obnoxious, like all little brothers were meant to be." Shelly choked up a laugh. "I sorta miss him, though."

Popuri's lower lip quivered. "Shelly... please don't leave Mineral Village!" She slouched over the table dramatically.

"I hate to do it too, but... I should. My family needs me, and I need them." She paused then thought for a moment. "Does anybody here have a phone I could use?"

Ann, overhearing the conversation, walked near the table. "Yeah, there's one on the counter!" She pointed to a small telephone to the right of them.

"Thanks, Ann," Shelly said as she got up from the table and picked up the phone.

"Oh, and here's ten cents," Ann said, reaching into her pocket and taking out some money. Shelly took the money and placed it into the little slot. She then dialed her home phone number.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end said.

"Mom, this is Shelly. I'm packing my belongings right now so I can leave," Shelly commented.

"Oh, honey, it's you!" Shelly's mother squealed happily. "Your brother and I have missed you so much! We'll get a boat to come get you, alright, dearie?"

"Thanks a lot, mom. I'll see you in a few days, I guess." She then hung up the phone and walked back to the table.

"Shelly," Popuri whined, "I can't believe you're leaving...."

"Me either, Popuri. Me either."

The next day, Shelly woke up earlier than usual. She got out of bed and opened the door. It was still pitch-black dark and no one was around. Quietly, Shelly tiptoed down the stairs to the first floor and looked around for a clock. Not being able to find one after a few minutes, she decided she'd get a flashlight from her room. So she quietly made her way back upstairs, then searched for her mini flashlight that she'd packed when she was supposed to go to India. As soon as she found it, she walked out of the door then tested it to make sure it worked. It did.

"Now... where the hell is that clock?" Shelly whispered to herself as she sneaked around the big Inn. She waved the flashlight in the air, hoping to find at least one clock. Having no success, she walked around again, not making sure to be quiet. She stepped on a creaky part of the floor, making it creak. Shelly stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh, shit," she mumbled quietly to herself. "I hope no one heard t-"

"...The hell is going on down there?" a voice from within upstairs said. Shelly frantically searched around for a hiding spot where she couldn't be seen. Unfortunately for her, she was wearing white pajamas so she couldn't really hide anywhere without being caught. Just then, she found the counter and ran as quickly as she could. Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Shelly figured she was safe where she was until she got curious. She moved her head to see who had come down the stairs, but bumped her head.

"Ouch!" She screeched, giving away her position. Shelly heard footsteps again, except this time they were clearer.

"Shelly?" The voice said. Shelly looked up. It was Cliff. He looked tired. "What are you doing down here?"

"I, um... couldn't sleep." The blonde said.

"Well, neither can I with all that noise that you've been making," Cliff remarked.

"Sorry about that. I've been trying to find a clock around here."

Cliff checked his watch. "It's 2:38, still really early. You should go back to bed."

"I can't, though; that's the problem," Shelly replied.

Cliff gave a long sigh. A small smile on his face grew. "Well, since I don't think I will either, maybe you and I could watch the sunrise."

Shelly felt a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, the feeling that this may be the last time that she could see Cliff ever again. "Alright," she said. She felt on the verge of tears as Cliff gently took her hand and they walked out the door together.

"I love sunrises," Cliff said silently as he and Shelly dangled their feet in the water at the beach.

"M-me too," Shelly stuttered as her voice cracked. "They're really pretty."

They were silent for a while as they listened to the soothing sounds of the waves lapping against the shore. Cliff swung his arm over Shelly's shoulder. It was the typical lull in their conversations, except this one was a better lull. A nice, romantic, gentle lull that only the two could feel. And it felt good.

"Cliff?" Shelly said.

"Yeah?" He replied.

It took Shelly a while before she could finally respond. "I'm going to miss you a lot." She started crying quietly. Cliff then cried too.

"I'll miss you too." He whispered. He then gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Oh, and don't tell any of the boys that I cried," he whispered with a chuckle. Shelly laughed too.

"I won't. It's not like... I really can either...." she responded as she grew sad again. Cliff didn't say anything.

After a while, the sky began to grow light. The sunrise was finally beginning. Cliff looked at Shelly.

"It's lovely," Cliff said. Shelly nodded, then paused for a moment.

"By the way, why did you ask me to watch the sunrise with you?" She asked.

Cliff hesitated before answering. "Because...because we may never get to see each other ever again."

That had brought tears to Shelly's eyes. She scowled. "Of course we're going to see each other again, Cliff. I'm going to come back to Mineral Village... and we're going to get married and have children who can start their lives here...." she whispered, her voice trailing off.

"That reminds me," Cliff said, reaching into his pocket, "I got you something." He searched around for the item, then after finding it, he took it out. Shelly couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the blue feather in Cliff's hands.

"Cliff, I..." she started, but never finished. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she took the feather and wrapped her arms around him lovingly.

"It cost me most of my money, but I knew it was worth it, especially for a girl like you," he replied.

"You shouldn't have," Shelly whispered in his ear. "That was so sweet of you to do that for me." They then embraced in a long kiss and didn't break apart for a long time.

* * *

_  
(A/N) : Whee... big romancin' in this chapter! Hehe, sorry, it's been a while since I last updated this story, don'cha think? I hope this is still a good story, and that this is a good chapter! I finally got to it when Michelle (goddesskali) asked me when the next chapter of this story was gonna be updated. Maybe she's magical, but THANK YOU, MICHELLE! LOL! I prob'ly couldn't have done it without you reminding me about it! And I want to thank all of you that have reviewed or read this far! Your kind comments keep me happy and writing! :)_

_Fairy Friend_


	14. Surprises

(A/N) – _My goodness, I haven't updated this fanfic in a LONG time. But well, I'm back, and so is this story. For those of you that have been anticipating the next few chapters, never fear, Fairy Friend's writing is here... and is hopefully here to stay. _

_(I wouldn't count on it.)_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Shelly's World  
Chapter 14 - Surprises**

It was dawn. Shelly found herself lying down in a pasture of sand and shells. A calm wave rose to her feet and cleaned her sandy legs. Feeling the sand, she looked around for Cliff with her hands. He was nowhere to be found.

Shelly groggily got onto her feet, dusted off the debris, then started her way out of the beach. As soon as she reached Town Square, however, she noted that it was eerily empty. A deserted feeling ran through her stomach. _Where the heck is everyone?_ She thought. Her foot crunched over a fallen leaf as she continued her search.

_Well, I might as well at least get dressed,_ she thought to herself. _I probably look like a complete mess._ As she continued walking around town, all she could hear was her own footsteps and the occasional hard wind blowing at the back of her hair, but she kept her pace. Once she had reached the Inn, Shelly tried turning the doorknob. It hardly budged an inch.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath. "Locked." In a rage of fury, she kicked the door as hard as she possibly could, causing a loud banging sound.

"_I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh!"_ a voice came from within the building. As footsteps could be heard coming closer to the door, the building seemed to shake with every step. The door then opened, revealing part of Ann's head. Her eyes bulged suddenly and she opened her mouth.

"Sh-Shelly! Oh, um… what brings you here?" Ann stammered stupidly. Shelly raised her eyebrow.

"…I live here," she remarked lamely. "I was out at the beach all last night and I need to get dressed."

"No you don't! 'Scuse me for a minute." Ann paused for a moment, closing the door slightly to talk with somebody inside the building. _"What? …Okay. Yeah, yeah, I'll tell her!"_ Ann yelled. She peeked her head back outside. "Um… why don't you come back in an hour, okay? The house needs cleaning. See ya later, navigator!" Before Shelly could get any words out, Ann saluted then slammed the door in front of her face.

"Oh, yeah, thanks Ann. Best friends forever," she spewed sarcastically to nobody in particular. "What do you expect me to do for an hour, buy my own clothes at the supermarket?" After pondering over what she'd just last said, she realised that she'd actually brought up a good idea. She quickly checked her watch. It was only eleven, so she figured she'd have enough time to buy something really quickly and make it back to the Inn at noon. She started her way there. Once she made it to the supermarket, she opened the door, which jingled as she walked inside. She saw Jeff and remembered him from the last time she came to visit. And, like last time, he was clutching his stomach and groaning in pain.

"Urggg… can I HELP you with ANYTHING?" he moaned, accenting his words when his stomach pains came to him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm in need of some clothes," Shelly replied.

"Clothes? We don't SELL clothes here!"

Shelly paused for a minute, not believing what she'd just heard. "You're kidding me, right? You mean to tell me that you run a supermarket, food, seeds, backpacks and all, but you don't, for the love of Goddess, carry ANY clothes whatsoever?"

"Um, well…" Jeff started, "we do have this PLAID cover-up jacket THAT Sasha never wears anymore." He threw it over to Shelly. "I suppose I could GIVE it to you for 100G."

_100G?_ Shelly's mind screamed. _I don't have that kind of money!_ However, Shelly's mind ran back to her visit at the supermarket with Ann.

"_Oh, people never pay here!"_ Ann's voice played in her head. Shelly looked up from her thoughts then grinned eagerly at Jeff.

"Why don't you just… put it on my tab?" Shelly said slowly. Before Jeff even had the chance to get a word out, she quickly ran out of the supermarket with the jacket under her arm. Once she reached the Inn, she rested against a brick wall and slid the blue jacket over her arms. It didn't match her clothes, but she didn't really care at the moment. For now, she was just happy to be wearing something else.

Shelly briefly looked at her watch again. It was now 11:50. After having been in the village for well around one season, she already knew that time flew by quicker there than it did in the city. All she had to do was wait for a few more city minutes and she was welcome back into the Inn. Sitting there, she traced back to previous memories of the town. She really _had_ enjoyed herself. Why she hadn't seen it before, she didn't know, but she realised that she never would have met Ann, Cliff, Popuri, and even Karen if she and her father had gone on the right plane. She had to admit it: she was going to miss the village life.

The village's bells rang. Shelly knew what that meant. She sauntered her way up to the door, knocked, and waited. Footsteps approached, and the door opened. Ann, who was standing behind the door, grinned at her.

"Hey, Shelly! We finally finished tidying up the place. You can come in now." Shelly walked into the room and up the stairs to her room. But, she pondered, something was eerily different about the place. It seemed quieter and darker which was quite unlike the Inn, which was usually buzzing about with customers. Ignoring her gut feeling, she opened the door to her room and turned on the light.

"SURPRISE!" Millions of voices rang throughout the room. Shelly screamed and leaned up against the door. All of the members of Ann's party, aside from Karen, Mary, and Ann herself, came out from underneath desks and the beds.

"What the HELL are you guys doing in my room?" she shrieked.

"It's a surprise party!" Popuri exclaimed anxiously. "We know you'll be leaving us soon so we wanted to do something nice for you." She came up to Shelly and gave her a hug.

"Damn, you guys scared the crap out of me," she said, still jittery from the shock she had received. Everybody laughed.

"The rest of the party is downstairs," Kai said as if nothing had happened that day at the festival, "if you want to join up with everybody, that is. I'm gonna go down there and grab me a beer. You want some wine with sugar, sweetheart?"

"Uh, no thanks," Shelly laughed. "No repeats of last time." Kai snickered, understanding exactly what she meant, then got up to leave the room. Everybody got up with him and since Shelly didn't want to be alone in her room, she followed the crowd downstairs.

She didn't even recognise the Inn anymore. It was bustling with people and laughter, a sight that she had never seen even after all of her days there. Doug was in his best attire, standing behind the counter, and sitting there were people she had never even met before. They were all happy and cheerful, and so was Ann, as she passed out alcoholic beverages to everybody in the round tables. She made eye contact with her and walked over to give her best friend a hug.

"Thank you so much, Ann," Shelly said in awe, letting go of her. "You really didn't need to go through all the trouble, I mean... this is just..."

"It's nothing," Ann interrupted, smiling. "Thanks for coming here. It was really such a joy to have you here. I'm...gonna miss you." She trailed off. The two just embraced in another hug.

Meanwhile, over at one of the tables in the Inn, Karen and Rick sat alone, drinking glasses of wine. The newlywed couple was arguing over Shelly.

"Dammit, Karen, at least _try_ to enjoy the party," Rick said, scowling. "You're ruining it all for me."

"I can't," Karen said glumly. "I'm thinking."

"About WHAT?" yelled Rick.

Karen sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. When she regained the ability to speak, she bowed her head. "About... how I've treated Shelly the whole time she was here. Face it, Rick, I wasn't exactly nice to her."

"Well, yeah," he commented.

"And," Karen continued, "she's leaving in a short amount of time. Once she's gone I'll never be able to live with myself and what a jerk I've been."

"So go apologise to her," Rick said dryly. Karen sunk her head into her arms.

"I can't."

"And why not?" Rick remarked.

"_Because,_" Karen whined, "what if she blows me off?"

"Why would she blow you off?"

"Why do you _think_, Rick?" Karen snapped. Rick only looked at her, his eyebrow quirked. She grimaced, glancing away from her husband and looked down at the floor, kicking her feet. She sighed wistfully and said, calmly, "I guess you're right."

Rick smiled and replied, "When have I never been right?" A smile grew on Karen's face too. She punched Rick playfully on the shoulder. "You jerk, I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her. He planted his lips on hers slightly, then said, "Good luck."

Karen got out of her seat. She spotted Shelly, who was talking with Ann. "I can do this," Karen mumbled to herself. Slowly, she walked over and waited until she was at least five feet away from the two. Ann looked over at her former best friend and smiled and waved to her.

"Hey, Karen, what do you need?" Ann chirped. Shelly turned around and looked at her, trying hard not to stare.

Karen glanced back at her. "I, um, need to talk to Shelly for a bit, if that's okay with you." Ann seemed surprised, but backed away from the conversation.

"Sure, go ahead," she said in a fake, cheery voice. "I need to go help Dad wash some of the dishes anyway." With that, Ann rushed toward the kitchen.

"What do you want?" Shelly said apathetically.

"Look, Shelly, I... I wanted to apologise for my behavior these past few weeks," Karen said.

"What makes you think I can trust you?" Shelly replied. "You pulled the same shit on me at Ann's party then betrayed me at the festival; how do I know you're not going to do that again?"

Karen's lower lip began to quiver. "Because I _won't_, Shelly." She cleared her throat, trying hard not to cry in front of everybody and ruin the party. "These past few days... I've just been thinking about everything. I... I know I haven't been very nice to you and I'm really sorry about that. I've been a complete jerk."

"Yeah you have," Shelly mumbled.

"The thing is," Karen continued, "that I saw you as a friend-stealer at the time. I never really stopped to think that you had no idea that you were doing such a thing... and then it occurred to me. Why should Ann and I stop being best friends? Who ever said that you could only have ONE best friend, you know?" Shelly nodded her head. "Jealousy... it really took over me, Shelly. I've learned to conquer that feeling and I'd, well, I'd like to be your friend. If you can't trust me when I say I'm done being jealous, then at least trust me when I say that I'm sorry."

Shelly stopped to think for a minute. Did she think she could take Karen seriously, especially after all she had done to her? Karen apology seemed sincere. However, Shelly hadn't really been nice to her either. She knew she had anger problems, but she realised that she had gone too far, especially when she punched Karen in the face. She looked up from her thoughts into Karen's eyes.

"I forgive you," Shelly began, "but I'm leaving soon. There's just... not enough time to become friends, you know?"

Karen looked down at the ground. "Yeah," she whispered.

"I'm sorry." Shelly was hushed.

"No, no, it's fine," Karen said, tears still welled in her eyes. She gave a sad smile. "I just wanted to stop the tension between us... and now it's gone. I feel so much better now." Karen said nothing more and walked away. At that moment, Ann came from within the kitchen.

"Details," Ann whispered, nudging Shelly.

"Karen apologised to me and asked me to be friends with her," Shelly replied. "I forgave her but declined her friend offer because I'm leaving soon."

"I see," Ann said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Everything's good."

-----

At around 2:30 PM, a couple could be heard yelling outside. Doug noted the noise. He walked slowly to the door and put his ear up against it.

"Quiet!" He yelled harshly to all the party members. Everybody shut up.

"What the hell are you doing, man?" A voice called out.

"I hear something," Doug grumbled. "Something's going on outside."

More of the party members encircled Doug to see what they could hear.

"Don't you hear that?" Doug asked.

"Yeah, sounds like people fighting," Rick pointed out. "Open the door and see what's going on."

Doug did as he was told. His eyes wandered over to a blonde-haired woman in a flattering green dress, a man in a plain white shirt with jeans, and a young brunette boy with the same attire as the older man.

"Hello," the blonde-haired woman said cheerfully, "we're looking for Shelly, our daughter. By any chance have you seen her around here?"


End file.
